


New Perspective [Temporarily On Hold]

by rreinhurts



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), bughead - Fandom, cheronica - Fandom
Genre: After 1x13, Angst with a Happy Ending, Betty Cooper Needs a Hug, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Jughead Jones Needs a Hug, No Smut, Rape, Riverdale, Self-Harm, Soft Jughead Jones, Suicide Attempt, Suicide Notes, after 2x12, triggering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-10-21 17:22:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17646719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rreinhurts/pseuds/rreinhurts
Summary: Betty Cooper left Riverdale. She was kidnapped from Riverdale. Jughead Jones went crazy. And now she's back, and he doesn't love her anymore.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The purpose of this story is not to glamorize mental illness/ Rape. As a person who also suffers, I don't really know how to write from the perspective of someone without them, as a person without them would have a hard time writing a character with mental illness. I think that it is important to show that you aren't the only one. This story also has mentions of rape, and there might be some of Abortion. Please know your boundaries. If you are looking for a sign to stay, let this be it. I love you. Safe reading.

It had been six months since Betty Cooper had seen her hometown of Riverdale. She crept back into her old house. Her old home. She walked into the entryway, as she did six months earlier. She could see the blood stains on the carpet, poking out from an area rug that someone who had prepared the house for her had installed.

 

She walked into the kitchen, and saw her mother’s antique vase on the kitchen table. She walked over to it, tears teeming in her eyes. She bent down onto her knees, dropping the two carpetbags she held. She grazed over the crack Polly had put in it when she was experimenting with hockey. Salty waves crashed against the bags under her eyes, and she let them. She swallowed hard, and then got up and walked around the house.

 

She wanted to go down into the basement, but she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough. That was where Polly had gone. She trudged up the stairs that she had tiptoed carefully down to sneak out with her friends. The floorboards creaked beneath her, in all the telltale places that she had mapped.

 

She walked up to Polly’s room, and the door was closed. She didn’t feel like going in there. That was where the twins had disappeared from her life, and Aunt betty was no more.

 

She shuffled past, and turned around to find her room with the door closed. She exhaled sharply, then turned the handle and pushed the door in. She had found her pastel pink paradise completely reorganized. She hated it. Everything was in the wrong spot. She spent to next hour and a half tearing it apart and putting it back the way she had liked it. When she had finished, she sat down on the bed again and weeped. For the girl she had been, for the girl she was now, and the actions that had made her that way. 

 

She went to the bathroom. She had trapped herself in there when he tried to take her. The door had been put back on its hinges. She walked in. She brushed her teeth, and splashed cold water on her wrists. She went into her closet, and grabbed new clothes. She always liked to change immediately when she came home from the airport. She loved the smell, but she liked to save it for special occasions, as not- special as she tried to make this trip.

 

She opened her wardrobe up, and grabbed some clothes. She didn’t really care what she looked like or what her clothes looked like, just that they matched. She got changed in a rush, and threw her hair into a tight ponytail. She grabbed her new phone off the charger, and slammed her door shut. She ran down the stairs, trying to get away from the objects that haunted her past. She gathered herself briefly, and then walked out of her door.

 

She walked over to her best friend, Archie Andrew’s house. She knocked on the door. She could hear Vegas barking from the living room, and the door unlatching. Fred Andrews opened the door, and the sight of her nearly made him have a stroke. He pulled her into a tight hug. 

 

“We were so worried Betty” He whispered into her ear. She could feel his tears dripping into the collar of her pink shirt, but she didn't care. That would be one of the many hard parts of coming back to town down. He pulled apart, and maneuvered to the stairs a few feet behind them. She walked to them, and climbed them slowly as she had done so many times before. 

 

But this time she was scared of Archie’s reaction. She swallowed the ball in her throat, and then knocked on his door. A shirtless Archie Andrews appeared, His hands covered in athletic tape and his chest gleaming with sweat. 

 

“Betty, oh my god.” He gasped, pulling her into a hug. He pushed her head flush against his chest. Old Betty would have screamed in a fangirl- like fashion, but instead she sunk into him. 

 

“We thought we would never see you again, Betts. Oh my god. Oh my god. You’re real, aren’t you?” She could hear the suppressed sobs in his voice. He broke away, and grabbed her arms, holding her a foot away so he could ensure her authenticity. 

 

“Yes, Arch. I missed you.” She said from swollen lips, tears welling in her eyes once again. He hugged her again, and then welcomed her into his room. It was less boyish since she had seen it last, and his guitar had been retired to the corner of his room. They sat down on his bed. 

 

“Do you mind if I text Veronica and let her know? She was so worried about you Betty, she’ll get mad if I don’t tell her.” The older redhead asked.

 

She nodded. He reached over onto his nightstand and sent her a text. 

 

The two hugged for the next seven minutes, until they heard Vegas barking. They stood up next to each other, waiting for Veronica. They heard heels running up the wooden stairs, and Veronica burt into the room. She threw a box of scones in the general direction of Archie’s bed, and sprinted at her best friend.

 

Her momentum almost knocked Betty onto the floor. Veronica was choking on her spit and tears, and hugged Betty like she would never let go. 

 

“I thought you were gone, B.” She sobbed.

 

She pulled apart, and the three of them hugged. It decidedly would have been, the most uncomfortable thing the trio had ever done, but in the moment, they were all crying.

 

“Pop’s?” Betty asked?

 

They all agreed, and found themselves walking to the Chocklit shoppe. They received many unbelieving looks from neighbors, but Betty tried to ignore it. 

 

They informed each other about what had happened while Betty was missing, like how Veronica had broken up with Reggie and started dating Cheryl, and opened Le Bonne Nuit under Pop’s. Betty jumped for joy at the Cheryl news, knowing how long Veronica had pined after her. Archie had been promoted to Varsity captain, and his dad had gotten a new job in Athens that would single-handedly pay for whatever college Archie decided to go to. 

 

Betty tried her best to suppress the feeling of guilt she had, but she hated the fact that her friends had kept living without her, and had moved on. Would they have even kept looking for her? Would she just stay Elizabeth Cooper, a girl who they used to know, and would they morph the story into a cautionary tale to tell their children about stranger the danger? Just a face on the Walmart “Missing Persons” board? But she pushed the thought down. “Just be happy you’re back Betty.”

 

About a block away, Betty asked the question that had been brewing in her head. “How was Jughead? “She knew that he probably hadn’t taken her disappearance well. She also knew as soon as she had asked the question, that she shouldn’t have. Veronica glanced over at Archie, a very “should we tell her?” look in her eyes.

 

“Um, we’ll tell you at Pop’s, Betts”. Archie stutterd. She knew the answer couldn’t possibly be good. Maybe he forgot about her. 

 

She walked nervously the rest of the way to Pop’s. The group sat down in the same seats where they sat before Betty disappeared. It took about thirty seconds before people noticed that Betty Copper was back in town, the same Betty Cooper whose face was flashed across every news outlet, the Amber alerts they all got, and who they had helped search for. Josie and Sierra Mccoy were first. She hugged them both, and told them when she would be going back to school. Next it was Pop, then Dilton, Penelope Blossom, and Tina from school. Cheryl walked into the small diner, and found their table. 

 

“Can I sit?” she asked in a weak tone, far different than the HBIC attitude that Cheryl had exhibited before she had left. Normally Betty would have said no, but since she was dating Veronica, she grudgingly obliged. 

 

Cheryl grabbed Betty’s hand, and spoke in a sweet tone. “Hey Betty. We missed you. Are you okay?”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe I think” She said, her mouth curving into a smile for the first time that day. 

 

“Have you heard?” she asked, glancing at Veronica, and grabbing her hand, placing their interlocked fists onto the table.

 

“She has.” Veronica spoke, and then they both retreated their hands back under the table. 

 

After they had ordered their milkshakes, Betty let that damned question slip from her lips again. 

 

“So, how’s Jug?” she asked, with a hint in her voice as she intended to be receiving the right answer, and nothing less. 

 

Archie looked to the two girls across from him, then back to Betty. “Betty, I was going to lie to you, and tell you that he’s doing great, but he isn’t.”

 

“Well, how bad is he doing?” She asked, concern waivering her voice.

 

“When he first found out, he destroyed the trailer, completely wrecked it. Then he was hellbent on finding you. He would sneak into your back window, I saw him like, 20 times. He would lay on your floor and cry, sift through everything and try to piece together why you left him. He went crazy, Betty. A month after you were taken, he tried to kill himself twice. And about 3 months ago he went on a huge drinking binge, oh my god it was horrible. He came over, and I had to miss two days of school to take care of him. And then he left for a month on a trip with Toni, and only they know what happened. He came back to school with cuts all over his arms. Betty, he went crazy over you.” He said, and then he grabbed her hand, trying to brace her from the news that had already saturated her mind.

 

“All over me?” she asked, her voice weary, and her entire body shaking.

 

Veronica nodded.

 

“I have to go see him. Oh my god, I have to go see him. Check please!” She started to yell. 

 

“Betty! Calm down! It’s fine. I’m sure he can survive 15 more minutes. I’ll take the check and then we can go to the trailer park.” Cheryl spoke forcefully. 

 

“No, we have to go now, I need to see him. Please. Oh my god I need to see him. Archie, please take me. Let’s go right now, please. I need to go see him please.”

 

Archie grabbed her arm. “Betty calm down, give it five minutes, please, for me?”

 

She struggled with him for a minute, him restraining her, before she gave up. Pop rushed the check over, and in five minutes they were out. 

 

“Betty, we need to talk first.” Veronica said as they were approaching the trailer park. 

 

“What, Veronica?” Betty snapped at her. Normally Veronica would snap right back at her, but given the situation, she decided to stay calm.

 

“Betty, I don’t think he’s going to react well if you just show up. I have no idea how he’s feeling, or what he’ll do. You should probably go to school, let him process the fact that you’re back, and then talk to him. I don’t want him to hurt himself again.” She finished, taking a large breath.

 

“No, V. I have to at least know he’s okay.

 

“Well if you insist” She said, trying to picture what would happen once he saw her.   
Once they entered the trailer park, Betty ran to his door. She took a deep breath, and then rapped on the door. She heard bottles clatter on the ground. FP opened the door. 

 

“Well, if it isn’t Betty Cooper? Came back to put salt in the wound, huh?” He said bitterly, a Corona in his hand.

 

“I just got back into town. I wanted to see Jughead.” She said. Maybe they were right. Maybe he didn’t want to see her.

 

“I have no clue where he is, slut. He might be at the Wyrm, or at Toni’s house. But I doubt that he wants to see you.” FP said, his eyes narrowing at her.

 

At this time, The gang had caught up to her. 

 

“Really FP?” Archie said, his eyebrows smashing together in a displeased fashion. 

 

“Betty, you fucked him up. Do you understand that? I haven’t seen him in four days. He tried to kill himself over you. I think he’s trying to forget you. I don’t want to have to go to that fucking hospital again, so could you not talk to him?”

 

“But, Mister Jones I-” She began, before she was cut off by the door slamming in her face. 

 

“Betty,” Archie began, but she pushed him out of the way, walking down the steps of the trailer, and falling to the floor, into the mud, sobbing.

 

“He doesn’t love me anymore. I ruined his life, and he doesn’t even love me anymore.” She sobbed. 

 

“Betty, that’s a lie and you know it. If he didn’t love you, why would he act like he did?” Archie said, raising her eyes to meet his. The mud had begun to sink into his jeans. 

 

“I hurt him Archie. I wasn’t there for him. I should have tried to escape. I should have been here in Riverdale with him.”

 

“Betty, what your father did isn’t your fault. He still loves you. I was walking around school the other day, and I saw him at his locker. There are still pictures of you inside of it. He won’t blame you for what your father did.” Cheryl affirmed. 

 

She rose up, and then they walked back to her house. She cried the entire way home. The posse tried to hide her from everyone, shield her from the gaping stares of the old fashioned townspeople, the ones with white picket fences, who shunned emotions. When they finally had gotten her back to her house, Veronica and Cheryl took her upstairs and got her changed and relaxed, while Archie made her a peach tea. He prayed she still liked peach. 

 

She came down the stairs, Archie had her tea on the table, the kettle cleaned, and Friends on the TV. The quad sat down, and Betty sipped her tea with her friends huddled around her. When it got late, Betty was expecting them to go home, but apparently it was common knowledge that they would all stay with her, even though it was a sunday and they all had school in the morning. 

 

Archie went upstairs and ran Betty a bath, and then Cheryl came in to help Betty into it, and to check on her to make sure she wouldn’t try to drown herself. When they came back down, Archie and Veronica were asleep, with Archie on the floor, and Veronica on the couch. Cheryl tucked Betty into bed on the couch, and then took her spot on the couch next to Veronica.

 

As much as Betty tried to fight it, she eventually fell victim to slumber.

 

“I love you, Elizabeth Cooper.”   
“But why’d you leave me?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 bbs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2. I believe I will be posting every other day (To carry everyone through a terribly lonely Valentine's season.) forward. I wrote out most of this story in advance, and so it's just ready to post. Thank you for all the clout. Please remember that I am 13, and in 8th grade, and If it shows in my writing I solemnly apologize. Follow me @rreinhurts on instagram for updates on this story and some trashy edits!

“I love you, Elizabeth Cooper.”  
“But why’d you leave me?”

 

The dream morphed once more. This time she was in her own house. It was the night of Veronica’s confirmation.She had on her favorite pink dress, which had been on the trailer floor shortly before. She checked her hair in the mirror, hung up her keys, and then walked into the living room. She was sitting high and pretty. Her and Jughead had finally slept together, and she couldn’t wait to tell Veronica tomorrow how amazing it was. 

 

She was high and pretty, until she fell to the floor. She looked back to see what she had tripped over. It was her mother’s dead body. She screamed like she had never screamed before. Her father was sitting in the chair. Polly was sitting next to him, bound together, and screaming herself. Betty jumped to her feet.

 

“Betty, take a seat, why don’t you?” her father asked her.

 

“Do you think that I would ever help you with this, ever? You just killed mom! Untie Polly right now and I won’t tell the Sheriff what you did to her!”

 

“And what was it that I did, Elizabeth? I want to hear you say it.” Hal spoke in a snakelike voice.

 

“You raped her. And then you threatened to send me to the sisters if I told anyone.” She retaliated, slowly backing away.

 

“Yes. And do you know what I am going to do to her now unless you come with me?” He said. It was like he was playing a game.

 

“What?” She was scared to ask.

 

“I will slit her neck, and make you watch her bleed.” He forced, as evil as he could.

 

“Fat chance. Let’s go Poll.”. She said, grabbing her sister off of the couch. Two people came up behind her and restrained her, clamping their dirty hands over her mouth.

 

“Horrible mistake, Elizabeth.”. He spoke dryly. He truly was the evil incarnate. He pulled Polly back, and pulled a switchblade from his pocket, showing it to her. He pointed towards the stairs. The goons pulled her and her sister up the stairs, her legs kicking as she struggled. They took her into Polly’s room, where the twins were sleeping. 

 

He held up Dagwood, the baby awaking as he pulled it by its scruff. Polly was screaming bloody murder underneath the duct tape closing her mouth. The he did it. Betty closed her eyes. Went they opened, the baby had been stabbed, and dropped to the floor. Polly was on the ground, rolling around. He repeated the process on the other twin, and then the sisters were torn down to the basement. Betty had somehow gotten the blood of her niece and nephew on her dress.

 

They were drug into the basement. The goons who were confining her threw her down onto the couch, still repressing her. Her father had Polly in a chokehold now.

 

“So will you come with me now, Betty?” he asked. His voice sounded unfazed, as though he had not just killed his grandchildren. Polly shook her head violently no.

 

“I would never give you the satisfaction, you sick fuck.” She spit, out of breath. 

 

In one motion, he sliced Polly’s thorat open, pulling her head away from her body to multiply the effects of his action. Betty was screaming and kicking. They took her back into the kitchen, leaving Polly’s body in the kitchen. Like it meant nothing. Like she meant nothing.

 

She watched her father take something out of the fridge. He mixed what appeared to be applesauce with melatonin pills. It took about five minutes until she was out cold. 

 

When she woke up next, she was in a dirty apartment. “Betty, are you awake? Good. This is where you will live for the rest of your life.”. She sat up, and looked around. There was one window, and it was bolted shut. 

 

She looked around the room. There was a closet, a bathroom, and a door to leave. It was bolted shut, with one of Hal’s cappos in front of it.

 

“Thinking of trying to escape, hm Elizabeth?” he asked. She turned back around to face him.

 

“Well, don’t because if you do, I won’t just kill you. I’ll go back to Riverdale, get Archie, Veronica, and Jughead, bring them back here, and then you can watch me kill them one by one until I kill you. Understand?” He asked in a cool tone.

 

She nodded. 

 

He walked over to her, and began to undo her dress. All she could remember was screaming.

 

Betty woke up, choking on her own tears, jolting Archie and Veronica awake. 

 

“What’s wrong Betty?” The redhead asked.

 

The commotion had awoken Cheryl, and she sat up, tossing the blankets away from herself, sitting on the coffee table, pulling the hair away from the blonde’s eyes. 

 

Betty decided not to tell them about the second part.

 

“I dreamt about him. He was asking me why I left him.”

 

Veronica’s eyes softened. “Betty, it’s not real. It wasn’t real. Do you want to go back to bed? It’s 5:30, you could just get ready for school.”

 

Betty nodded. “Can someone get me an Advil? My head hurts.”, and just like that, she was swept up and sat in her kitchen chair. After Veronica had doctored her up, the girls whisked her up the stairs to help her get ready. 

 

“Hey, Betty, do you mind if I go get changed?” Archie yelled up the stairs.

 

Cheryl yelled back down to him. “She says to go Archie.”  
.

As they did her makeup, and picked out her clothes, they planned about what to do that day at school.

 

“ If you see him, keep walking. Maybe make eye contact. Don’t talk to him until we tell you too. Do you understand?” Veronica asked her.

 

“Yes” she said robotically knowing that she would probably astray from the plan, but just to give her best friend the peace of mind she deserved, she would agree.

 

When Archie returned, they packed her backpack, which they found in the hallway closet, gathering dust, and slung it over her back. Cheryl always left her backpack at school, and Veronica had Andre drop it off. They departed to school, and walked there. They, ofcourse, had merited stares, but kept walking. Betty couldn’t be late to school that day. 

 

When they arrived, they went in the back, and took the route above all of the students who would crowd her and make her upset, before they descended the stairs by the administrative offices.

 

She was welcomed into the offices while her friends waited outside, guarding the door. 

 

“Elizabeth, what a pleasure to see you. It is truly a miracle you have returned to us. Riverdale had a fair lack of morale after our star student left us.” He said, shaking her hand, and beaconing her to sit down across from him. 

 

“ELizabeth, I have faith you’ll assimilate quickly, however given the circumstance, I suggest that you many want to retake 11th grade, just to make things easier in the future. However, if you feel as though you could catch up, I suppose we could at least let you try.” He said. 

 

‘I would like that very much principal Weatherbee.” she respectfully finished  
.

“Very well. I will let my staff know that you are back. Have a good day Betty.” He said. Wow. He really was nice to her today.

 

She walked out, and turned around.

 

“Okay, I’m ready.” She told them. Veronica linked arms with Betty, and hands with Cheryl.

 

“Hey, guys, I’m going to go check on Jughead, I’ll see you guys in science.” Archie quipped in, but cut whatever it was that he was planning to say after Veronica and Cheryl both gave him death glares. 

 

 

 

“Are you serious? We have like no classes together! Now how am I supposed to tell you how beautiful you look every minute?  
“Sorry, loverboy, I guess it just wasn’t what the counselor had in mind for us.”.

 

 

 

Betty used to be mad she only had three classes with Jughead, but now she was relieved. Infact, she wished that she had had zero with him, so that she wouldn’t have to face him. Science was fine, she got her fair share of disbelieving stares, which was understandable. Everyone thought for sure that she was dead, or at least that they would never see the girl next door again. The four of them parted ways, Veronica and Cheryl going off to Math, and Archie and Betty heading to French. A class she had with Jughead. Shit.

 

As they walked there, Archie informed Betty on the details of his conversation. It was boring, and like he knew that she would be pulling all of the details out of Archie. 

 

They sat down in the front, and 30 seconds later, the bell rung. 

 

The worst automatically flew through Betty’s mind. “Did he leave when he heard I was here? Does he hate me that much?”

 

About three minutes into the class, a certain Jughead Jones and Toni Topaz walked in. 

 

“You’re late.” Madame Hilker said firmly

 

Jughead made a “Pfft” sound, and walked past her, peeling his headphones off of his head. He looked up, and caught Betty’s eyes.

 

Betty couldn’t lie. He looked so beautiful standing in front of her. The shitty fluorescent lighting of the highschool french room couldn’t possibly have done him justice. His hair was fallen perfectly into his eyes, held in place by the hat he always wore. He looked as though he had changed, yet looked the same. But, the one thing she couldn’t help but notice was his jacket. He had traded the light wash denim jacket that she would always steal for a leather serpent jacket. He truly had gone crazy.

 

He stopped in his tracks. Ofcourse, everyone knew that there was to be a big confrontation. Everyone had seen the scars on his arms that he tried to hide, everyone had noticed the month long absence from school, and how he came to school drunk every other day. Even the teacher was watching nervously.

 

She rose to meet him, but as soon as she did, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room, with Toni following suit.

 

She sprung forward to try and go after him, but Archie grabbed her, and pulled her back down into her seat. 

 

“Just give him time Betty” Archie whispered into her ear.

 

That class, everything passed over Betty. She did everything she could not to cry. She couldn’t be the girl who cried in french class. 

 

After french had let out, she had a free period. She figured that she should go to the blue and gold, try to write. It always cleared her mind. She pushed open the archaic wooden door, and found herself in the old room. Her laptop was moved to a different corner of the room. She picked it up, and went back to her desk. She turned on the light above her laptop, and started typing. She had an unfinished story in the works on child slaves in Malaysia. She opened up her notes, and within 15 minutes, it was like she had never had a six month leave of absence. 

 

She heard the door creak open and close. She looked up and turned around in her swiveling chair, only to see Jughead standing in the doorway, the color drained from his face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. I don't know if I mentioned this, but this song is based off of the iconic BOP! New Perspective by the one, the only Panic! At The Disco. I listened to a one hour repeat three times whilst writing this, and drew inspiration from this. ENJOY!
> 
> ig: @rreinhurts

She heard the door creak open and close. She looked up and turned around in her swiveling chair, only to see Jughead standing in the doorway, the color drained from his face.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were in here.” He stuttered, and then turned away from her.

 

“Jughead! Stop!” She was up and running after him. She grabbed him by his shoulder, and immediately retracted, backing away towards her desk.

 

“Jughead, why are you avoiding me? What happened?” she asked, tears brimming in her eyes.

 

“Betty, I just heard that you got back this morning. I haven’t had time to think about what to do. I can’t talk to you right now, I’m sorry.” He said, closing the door.

 

“Jughead, please, talk to me! I haven’t seen you in six months! Are you okay?” She asked.

 

He breathed a sharp breath. “No Elizabeth, I am not okay.”

 

He stepped towards her, closing the door to the small newsroom. 

 

“I am certainly not okay. You left me. I needed you. Your mom was murdered? My dad felt the same pain. Bringing home random sluts every night to compensate for his loss? And you? Leaving me after I slept with you? Why didn’t you try to escape? I was stuck here rotting for six months, tortured by you, tearing myself to pieces looking for you, and a month ago I choose to let go. But now you’re back? You expect everything to be all happiness and rainbows and that everything will just go back to the way it was, that we would go back to the way it was?” Tears began welling up in his eyes.

 

“You know that it wasn’t my fault Jughead. I didn’t ask to be taken.” She yelled back at him.

 

“Well I didn’t ask for you to come back.” He spit, before turning and leaving, slamming the door behind him.

 

She fell to her knees, sobbing. He didn’t even want her back. He didn’t even love her anymore. And it wasn’t even her fault. 

 

When Jughead Jones walked out of that room, all that was left of the old Elizabeth Cooper had died. Like a wilted rose.

 

She decided to go home that day. She was excused by Weatherbee, and Archie drove her home and stayed with her until school was over. Veronica stayed, but Cheryl had to leave just as fast as she had arrived; something with the serpents. 

 

They took her up to her room instead of the living room. 

 

“So how was he? Was he upset? Did he look like he was crying? Did he seem unfazed?” Betty questioned endlessly.

 

“Slow down there, Cooper. What happened that made you leave school early?” The redheaded girl asked. It was still odd for Betty. As much as she supported Veronica’s relationship, simply put, she still couldn’t shake the giant bitch that Cheryl was before. It was weird seeing nice words and sympathy spill from the ginger’s mouth.

 

“Before any of you yell at me, this wasn’t my fault. Okay? Promise me. Promise me that you won’t th-” She began, before she was cut off by Archie.

 

“Betty, we would never blame you, okay?”

 

“Okay, Arch.” She began.

“So, I trust that Archie told you about French?” she asked, turning to the couple sitting besides her. The pair nodded solemnly.

 

“So it was during third period, and I thought I would go down to the Blue and Gold. See if I could de-stress, you know? And I was working on something, and then he walked in. He tried to turn around and leave, but I ran after him like an idiot.” She began crying at this point, Veronica made a huge gesture of grabbing the tissues from Betty’s bedside table and giving them to her blonde best friend. The rest of the group gave her the stink eye.

 

“Thanks V.” She said, grabbing a mop of them and wiping her eyes.

 

“And I touched his shoulder to turn him around. And I could tell that he didn’t want to talk to me. He started talking about how he had just heard I had gotten in this morning, and that he had no clue what he was going to say to me yet. And I just kept pressing him like the idiot I am. God, why am I so stupid!” She cried out. Archie pulled her to his chest, letting her tears soak through the cotton of his t-shirt.

 

“Betty, you aren’t stupid. I would have done that. Anyone would have ran after someone that they loved as much as you loved Jughead.” Archie comforted her, swaying as he cradled her.

 

She sat up and blew her nose once again, and then carried on. “And I asked him if he was okay, and then he got really angry. He started yelling at me about how he wasn’t okay, and how it was all my fault. He was saying how he needed me, and I left him. And talking about how I slept with him and then left.”

 

“Wait, hold on a second,” Veronica began. “You guys slept together? And you didn’t tell me?” The raven haired girl said in outrage.

 

“Sorry V, there were alot of things on my mind that night!” She yelled back at her best friend.

 

“I guess you’re right about that” Veronica agreed, sitting back down on her bed next to her girlfriend.

 

“But yes. And it was incredible.” She said. Tears were teeming from her eyes.

 

“And then, then it was the worst part. He was talking about how he drove himself wild chasing after me, and how last month…” She took in a sharp, sobbing breath. “He finally let go of me.”

 

“Betty, that’s horrible-” Cheryl began.

 

“Oh, I know, but that isn’t even the worst part. I started yelling back at him, saying how it wasn’t my fault what my father did, and he knew it. That I didn’t asked to be kidnapped. And them he said, he said…” She forced out of herself between gasps for air.

 

“He never asked for me to come back.” She finished. Tears seeped out of her. The entire group surrounded her in a giant hug.

 

“Betty, it will be okay. Calm down, it will be okay. He didn’t know what he was saying.” Archie affirmed. She tried her best to believe him.

 

Cheryl pulled apart from the hug. 

 

“Betty, I saw him, on my way to the bathroom during English. He was with Toni, and she was yelling at him. Betty, he was crying. She was saying how you screwed him over so much, that it’s only fair. Betty, I don’t think it’s him. I think it’s Toni.” Cheryl spoke in a quiet tone.

 

“No, it’s him. He hates me.” Betty sobbed.

 

Cheryl dug out Betty’s face from the pillow it was buried in. 

 

“Betty! Look at me! I know it might be a soft spot…” Cheryl began, glancing to Veronica, who gave an approving nod. “But I was with Toni. You remember, don’t you? You want to know why I broke things off? Because she’s a manipulative bitch. She turned me against everyone I knew so that she could have me all to herself. I bet she’s doing the same thing with Jughead. She’s Bi, you know.” She offered.

 

“Could it really be true? I don’t want to go after her and have Jughead hate me more!” Betty announced.

 

“Um, Betts, I don’t think he can hate you anymore, so you should probably go for it.” The redheaded boy offered.

 

All three of the girls heads cocked towards him as if on command.

 

“Real smooth, Andrews.” Veronica criticized.

 

“She works at the wyrm, right?” she offered.

 

“Yeah, but you might not want to go down there. Jones always hangs out there.” The ginger girl offered.

 

Betty pondered on the thought for a moment. She had to do something.

 

“Can you guys go down there and tell her to back off? Please?” Betty begged.

 

“Betty, you know we can’t do that.” Veronica interjected.

 

Betty began crying again. It was like a floodgate. Once it started, she had a hard time stopping it. She just wanted him back so badly. It hurt like hell, but she wanted him back so badly.

 

“Okay, fine, we’ll do it,” Cheryl finally cracked. “But you have to wait until tonight, okay? I have a serpents meeting, and I’m not going to risk getting kicked out for your melodrama. But the younger serpents always go to the Wyrm after meetings. 

 

“Thank you Cheryl.”

 

Cheryl nodded, kissed Veronica goodbye, and then grabbed her red leather jacket off of Betty’s desk chair.

 

“I don’t know how to get him to understand that it isn’t my fault that I left. I did it to protect him.” The Blonde fell back onto her bed. Her friends leaned back and laid with her.

 

“Well, B, I think you have to tell him that.” Veronica began. “Anyway, you don’t have to tell us, but what happened that night, with Jughead, with your dad, everything. Please?” Veronica asked, waiting giddily.

 

“Okay, V. So it was after your confirmation. We went back to the trailer. Fp was out for the night. We were sitting on the couch, and he started to tell me how much he loved me. It was incredible, oh my god. He told me that he didn’t care that we were from different parts of town, and that no matter what got in our way that he would love me forever. And then things got… intense. But it was amazing.”

 

“Did you enjoy it?” Veronica asked.

 

“Of course.” betty replied earnestly. “We did it twice. And then i went home. Oh my god. I walked in the door, and I didn’t see her. I was so caught up in what had just happened. I was so happy, and so relaxed. I had been waiting for eight months for him to make a move like that. But I didn’t see her. It was my mom. She was on the floor, with three knives sticking out of her. I tripped and fell over her.”

 

“I started screaming. I looked up, and my dad was sitting on the couch with Polly. It was like he was waiting for me. He asked me to join him. I told him that I would turn him in for murdering my mother and raping Polly unless he let her go and left.” The blonde choked out. It was hard for her to speak, she was taken aback by emotions.

 

“Wait, he raped Polly too?” Archie asked, his eyes filled with concern. All she could do was nod as tears leaked out of her eyes.

 

“Then these people came out of nowhere. They grabbed me and Polly. I was kicking and screaming. They dragged us up the stairs, and into Polly’s room. That’s where the twins were sleeping. He picked up Dagwood, and stabbed him. Then he did Juniper. I still have nightmares about Polly’s screams. Oh my god. She was rolling on the floor. There was blood all over both of us.”

 

“Wait, you watched them being killed in front of you?” Veronica asked.

 

“Yes. I don’t think I can have kids now. Polly was ready to die for them. I can’t imagine. She was screaming. It will forever be what I think about whenever someone mentions babies. I just can’t do that to myself.” She finished.

 

“It’s okay, Betts. You don’t have to finish if you don’t want to.” The redhead boy was hugging her now. 

 

“No, I’ll finish. Then they drag us down the stairs, and into the basement. My father gave me one last chance to join him. They were holding me to the couch. He was going to kill Polly. She told me not to. She wanted to be with her babies. So I said no. Then he cut her head half-off.”

 

The group all gasped. Even Betty herself. She had only told one of the officers who found her, Sheriff Minetta, who had cared the most about her, what had happened.

 

“Then they gave me something to knock me out, and I was out cold. I woke up in a dirt apartment, in what turned out to be Indianna. He told me that If I ever tried to escape that he would catch me. And then he would go back to Riverdale. He told me that He would get you two, and Jughead. He would make me watch you all get killed. Archie, you were going to be first. Then Veronica. And then Jughead. He told me how he would torture him. That’s why I never tried to escape. I couldn’t have you guys’ blood on my hands too.” the blonde finishing, falling back into sobs.

 

“Oh my god Betty. We’re so sorry that happened.” Veronica said, and the three of them hugged.

 

“Guys. I killed my Sister. I killed my niece and nephew. I almost killed Jughead. I don’t want to admit it, but I almost killed all of us.” The Blonde choked out in between sobs.

 

“Elizabeth, look at me. You didn’t kill any of them. Your father did. None of this is your fault. Look at me, Goddammit! You didn’t do this. You are not evil. Do you understand?” Archie asserted, grabbing her face.

 

“It’s not my fault.” she finally said.

 

“Betty, do you want to talk about what happened after, or are you good for tonight?” Veronica asked, trying to keep the little composure she had left. She wanted to cry for her best friend. If there was anyone who didn’t deserve this, it was Betty.

 

“Sure. He raped me. Plain and simple. Him and his henchmen. Their names were Ian, Mark, and Ben. They would do it every day. I counted in the beginning. I lost count at 542. That was only during January.” She forced out. 

 

They just hugged for the next few hours. They stayed like that until the clock neared six, and Betty begged Veronica to go home, get changed, and go with Cheryl. Respecting Betty’s wishes, Veronica left. Archie stayed with her.

 

 

 

The two girls stormed into the bar. Cheryl and Veronica were on fire. They walked up to the back. To their luck, Toni was pouring shots. Jughead was in a booth towards the back, a little bit drunk, but still in control of himself. 

 

“Hello, Topaz.” Veronica stepped up onto the platform the bar was situated on. 

 

“Why hello there, Lodge. Did you end up on the wrong side of town? Last time I checked, you were a Northside skank. Or did you just come here to gloat?” The pink haired serpent asked the couple.

 

“Courjal as always, TT.” Veronica responded. She could see how using Cheryl’s nickname for her ex-girlfriend really got her gears grinding.

 

“What do you want?” Toni asked.

 

“We came here to ask you nicely. Stop feeding things in Jughead’s ear. We know you don’t like Betty. But if you can stop interjecting yourself into their issues, that would be fabulous.” Cheryl said, back into the HBIC mode Veronica fell in love with. 

 

“And what if I don’t?” The short girl asked, sliding the shot to an older man across the bar. 

 

“I’ll tell everyone about your Grandfather.” Cheryl threatened.

 

“Lower your voice right now Cheryl, or I swear to god, I will kill you.” Toni’s voice echoed through the bar. Heads turned. The pink haired girls grabbed them both by the arm and dragged them back into the employees only area.

 

“What the hell Cheryl?” Toni asked. “I was there for Jughead when your friend left him after they had sex, without any answers. He tried to kill himself, and Andrews and I had to put him back on track.”

 

“Well then why are you sickking him against Betty? Veronica asked.

 

“I was there for him when she wasn’t. It’s not my fault that she left him. She wasn’t there, and so therefore he’s fair game.” Toni whispered.

 

“If you so much as think one more bad thing about Betty Cooper, your secret will be put on posters and billboards within 24 hours, and that’s a promise.” The raven hair girl threatened.

 

“Okay, just leave, I have to go back to work.” she said, and then pushed the couple out of her way.

 

As the two walked out of the bar triumphant, a certain Jughead Jones spotted them. He followed them out to the parking lot.

 

Just as the two were climbing into the front seats of Cheryl’s shiny red ride, the serpent himself caught up to the duo.

 

“What the hell was that about, Cheryl?” He yelled at her, briefly gaining the attention of the older serpents gossiping at their bikes, before they decided that it was typical high school kid drama, and continued their conversation. 

 

“Whatever do you mean, Jones?” Veronica asked.

 

“You know what I mean.” He said. He definitely wasn’t in the mood to play games.

 

“Just a little coaxing, that’s all.” Cheryl smacked her red lips at him, leaning against her car.

 

“Is this just you guys coming to spy on me for Cooper?” He asked, his voice raged with emotion.

 

“Betty did ask us to come, yes, but we aren’t looking for trouble with you. She’s already had more than enough from you today.” Veronica said.

 

“Like what trouble. It’s nothing compared to what she did to me.” The tall boy said to the duo.

 

“Oh my god, Jughead. Can you not see 5 feet in front of you? Do you think that Betty wanted to leave you? Do you think that the way she wanted to end her perfect night with you was tripping over her mother’s body, or watching her sister get decapitated?” Veronica fired back at him.

 

His face fell.

 

“I’m done. Don’t come back here again. Cheryl, If i was serpent king, you would be out of the serpents.” He said, turning back towards to Wyrm.

 

“Profound words, Jones.” Cheryl yelled after him.

 

He shook with anger. But by the time he had turned around, they were pulling out of the parking space.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you guys know that chapters may not be as fast. I haven't really had a good past few days. A person I thought that was one of my best friends completely screwed me over for someone else, although me and my two friends were the ONLY ones who defended her after she made a mistake (she brought alcohol into school), which has been very hard for me. I have extreme writers block, and I am honesty not doing great. So please show this chapter love <3
> 
> ig: rreinhurts

“I’m done. Don’t come back here again. Cheryl, If i was serpent king, you would be out of the serpents.” He said, turning back towards to Wyrm.

 

“Profound words, Jones.” Cheryl yelled after him.

 

He shook with anger. But by the time he had turned around, they were pulling out of the parking space.

 

 

The gang slept over at Betty’s house once again, and Cheryl and Veronica told the blonde everything that had happened. She started crying, once again, and they brought her back down. That night, They helped her open up the door to her parents room. She was upset, no doubt, but she was starting to finally come to peace with what had happened. She was starting to accept, only in small pieces, but nevertheless, in pieces, that she was still here. She was still Elizabeth Cooper. And she was still here.

 

The next day, Betty went back to school. Jughead wasn’t there, but Toni was. She avoided her, which she thought was good. She went back to the Blue and Gold, and finished her story. She proofread it, and then proudly published it to the school website. She gathered her things, and then went to mechanics.

 

The rest of the day went about as well as it could. The gang took her home, but only Archie stayed. She couldn’t put it against them. They had lives too. It would be selfish to ash them to put everything on hold to fix her. Archie put in Friends for them, and Betty was out cold within 15 minutes. She didn’t dream that night, something she would thank God for. 

 

The two were woken up at 7:30 by a blare from Cheryl’s car. They scrambled to get ready, and Archie ran next door to change and let the dog out. Betty brushed her hair into a tight ponytail, threw on a blue sweater, and then crept out of her door. 

 

From her window facing Archies, she could see he was still getting ready, so she decided that she was going to do it. She was going to open the door to Polly’s room.

 

She snuck down the hallway to the doorway of Polly’s room. She exhaled, and the placed her hand on the handle. Just her fingers touching the cold metal of the doorknob sent shivers down her spine. She turned the handle, and began to push in, when she heard Veronica’s voice yelling that they were going to be late. She jumped, but closed the door.

 

She slung her bag over her shoulder. Cheryl lectured them about being on time, but Betty was tuning them out. She just kept thinking about what she would have seen if she hadn’t been interrupted.

 

They arrived to school just on time, and they went about their day. Jughead was there that day, obviously drunk. He missed almost all of his classes, but was still in the Blue and Gold writing. After french class, Betty dropped her books off at her locker, and went back to the newspaper office. She pushed open the door.

 

She was scared that Jughead was going to be in there. Horrified. She was so scared to face her. When Betty lie next to her friends when she would wake up from nightmares, she wondered if she could ever let go of him. She wondered if that thing that happened in movies where there would be a montage of two people thinking about each other at the same. She always hoped. She just couldn’t push him out of her mind. And she hated it.

 

He was typing something furiously on his laptop, and he had earbuds in. He didn’t look up for a while. She dismantled every part of him that she saw. She could see his slender fingers moving around the keyboard he labored over, and wished that they were in her hair. She could see what little of his body that he had not buried under layers of clothing, and wished that it was pressed against her. 

 

All of the sudden, he was looking at her. 

 

She went to her laptop, and sat down at her desk. He was packing up, and ready to leave. 

 

“Jughead, wait.” She called after him. 

 

He turned around. He looked like her had been crying. He took his bag off, and then dropped it to the floor. He let his laptop slide onto the side table. 

 

“What is it Betty? Came here to taunt me, huh?” He asked. She could feel the hurt in his voice.

 

“Jughead, I would never hurt you on purpose. You know that.” She said. She was becoming frantic.

 

“And yet you still left me. When I needed you.” He fired back at her. His voice was breaking. She wanted to reach out and touch him. They were a mere five feet apart. She could just do it. Kiss him. Stick her tongue down his fucking throat. But she didn’t. 

 

“Do you think I wanted to leave you, Jughead?” She asked. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

 

He looked at her. And then he walked away. Walked away from the girl he loved.

 

 

 

Their love was never supposed to end. 

 

Maybe that’s why it ended

 

“God, I don’t know what to do, he won’t even talk to me.” She was sobbing, surrounded by her friends.

 

She had told them about what had happened. 

 

She was so confused. Why was he blaming her? She didn’t know what to do. How to make him stop hating her. The worst part was that she didn’t do it, she didn’t choose to leave. If she could, she would have stayed. She wouldn’t have left Jughead, she wouldn’t have been waking screaming with nightmares, and she wouldn’t have lost almost everyone she loved.

 

Archie was going to go over to Jughead’s house, as he did every other Wednesday night. He said that he would plant a good seed in Jughead’s mind. She prayed he would.

 

 

 

“Jughead, what’s up with Betty?” The red headed boy asked. 

 

Jughead got angry. “Archie, if this is just you coming over to interrogate me for Betty, then please leave. I don’t even know what to think about it anymore.”

 

“Jughead, I don’t think you understand. It’s not my place to tell you what happened, but things were bad. She watched her entire family get murdered. She was tortured for six months. Jughead, I didn’t tell her everything about what happened to you since she had left, It’s not my place, and I respect you.”

 

“What did you tell her? Archie, what did you tell her!” The younger boy yelled. His eyes were piercing. Stinging behind the smokescreen he had hidden himself under, he was in a world of hurt.

 

“Just that you weren’t doing good. I only told her about two of your attempts. I told her about how you went crazy, and how you would sneak into her room, sift through her things, try to piece together what happened to her. And how you left town.”

 

His face fell somehow even lower.

 

“You saw me, Archie?” He asked. 

 

“Yeah, Jug. I also have to ask, what happened on that trip with Toni?” Archie asked him.

 

“Archie, I barely remember. I went looking for her, I remember. I went all the way up to Maine. And when we couldn’t find her, I went on a binge. I almost OD on Jingle Jangle. It was horrible. God, I just missed her so much. I still miss her so much.” 

 

He was so sad. So distressed.

 

“Then why don’t you tell her, Jug! She cries about you every day. She can’t get over you! Stop pushing her away.” He demanded.

 

There was a pause.

 

His face morphed.

 

Jughead never cried. He had only cried when it really warranted it. He mainly cried about Betty. 

 

“I don’t know if I can.” He sobbed.

 

There Archie Andrews, Varsity football star sat, cradling his guy-best friend in his arms. He sobbed there for what felt like hours. After a while, he got up, and “in typical bro fashion” as Jughead would say, and disregarded it, turning the TV back onto the shitty horror movie they were watching.

 

When it was over, they just sat there, staring at a blank screen in silence. 

 

“Juggy, you still awake?” The redhead asked.

 

“Yeah, Arch, I’m still awake.” Tears starting dripping down his cheeks again.

 

Archie drew in a deep breath, as if bracing himself for what he was about to say to the boy sitting next to him. Maybe he didn’t want to hear it. But he would make sure he did. 

 

“Jughead, why do you keep blaming her?”

 

“Because I can’t blame myself. I should, though. I shouldn’t have let her leave that night. I told her that both of her parents were out of town, and that she would be fine. But she insisted that she needed to go home. 

 

Archie, I’ve never told anyone this, but after Betty didn’t answer her phone, I went over to her house. She wasn’t in her room, so I went downstairs. I found them all. I was so scared. Then I ran after her. I didn’t call the police until 40 minutes later. 

 

Archie, that was the worst 48 hours of my life. I didn’t know what was happening. Five days after that, as you know, was my first attempt.”

 

Archie looked at him with sad eyes.

 

“You know, it’s actually kind of funny. What was it, exactly six months ago, that Betty and I were on this couch. She probably told you, or you probably heard somehow. But we were sitting here, just like how we are now. I started telling her how much I loved her. And then we had amazing sex. I mean, I have nothing else to compare it to, but it was still amazing. Then she was gone. I thought she was dead.” He was now, ofcourse, a blubbering mess. 

 

As much as Archie had tried to help him, truthfully, he didn’t know how. The love of his life had never run away from him. He’d never destroyed his life over a girl.

 

“Jughead, you’ve really fucked her over, you know?”

 

Jughead stood up, oblivious to Archie’s question, and walked around the small coffee table in the center of the small living room of the trailer. He sat down, leaned against the wall that had a open panel to his kitchen, and cried.

 

“Yes, and I hate myself for it.” He began.

 

“God, I just love her so much. I would give my life for her.” The boy finished.

 

Archie walked over to him, and squatted down to his level.

 

“You might want to take off that stupid hat and listen for a second.” He scolded.

 

Jughead took off the grey beanie and threw it across the room, his face returning to the crevice in between his knees. “Happy now?” He asked.

 

“Not quite. How about you stop telling me that, and tell it to her instead!” He said in an accusing tone.

 

“Archie, can you give me a second. I’m going to tell her of course, I just need to figure out how to recover from being the total dick I was before.” 

 

As soon as Jughead uttered those words, Archie received a call from Veronica.

 

“Veronica, what the hell, I’m kind of in the middle of something.” Archie scolded.

 

“Not now, red. It’s Betty, she’s having a panic attack. You need to come home, right now.”

 

Archie hung up the phone, not even saying goodbye.

 

“I have to go Jug. I’m sorry, Betty needs me.” The red head said, grabbing his phone and letterman jacket.

 

Jughead scrambled to his feet, wiping his snot on his sweater. “What’s wrong with Betty?” He asked, concern waiving his voice.

 

“She’s having an anxiety attack right now, dude. I really have to go.” The older boy informed him. 

 

“Archie, let me go with you, please. I need to know that she’s okay.” Jughead yelled after his friend, shovelling up his beanie and smashing it back onto his head.

 

The older boy turned around, any shard of sympathy that was remaining for his friend had been cracked and peeled out of his mind. Someone would eventually be cut. “Jug, you really think she wants to see you right now? ‘Hey, I’ve been blowing you off, and hurting you, want to fuck while you freak out over your PTSD?’” The Older boy remarked.

 

Jughead looked at him with sad eyes. He nodded, letting him go.

 

As Archie left, Jughead went to the back room of the house, his bedroom. He crept open the door to his bathroom, and began his daily routine, marking his skin with crimson red pools. He leaned his head against the side of the side of the bathtub he had somehow gotten into.

 

Jughead strained to get out of the bathtub, groaning. He washed the blood off of his arms. He hated it when he ruined the already few clothes he had. And he didn’t want his dad to worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you guys know that chapters may not be as fast. I haven't really had a good past few days. A person I thought that was one of my best friends completely screwed me over for someone else, although me and my two friends were the ONLY ones who defended her after she made a mistake (she brought alcohol into school), which has been very hard for me. I have extreme writers block, and I am honesty not doing great. So please show this chapter love <3
> 
> ig: rreinhurts


	5. Chapter 5

At the same time, Betty Cooper sat at the top of her stairs, facing away from the corridor where the bedrooms resided. She had been stupid. Cocky, even. She had thought that she could go into Polly’s room. Even armed with Cheronica by her side, she couldn’t do it. She looked at the new area rug hiding her niece and nephew’s blood. It didn’t match in the weird way that only Polly could see. It was as though it was meant to (literally) sweep the tragedy that had happened in that very room under the rug. There was nothing special about it. Now Betty Cooper was having a Panic attack over a rug.

 

A fucking rug.

Archie had just arrived. They were trying to calm Betty down, while also trying to give her room to breathe. She didn’t calm down for 30 minutes. They had to coax her into the kitchen, where they gave her the anti-depressants that had prescribed to her. The same ones that she had purposefully not taken. Before she had dated Jughead, she was addicted to Adderall. She didn’t want to fall back into that cycle again.

 

 

 

Across town, on the Southside, Jughead reached for the same bottle. But of course, his was generic version. It was a miracle that he could even afford the generic brand. His father was reluctant, but he figured that if he paid in medication, he would have to pay less to visit the hospital after every one of Jughead’s failed suicide attempts. 

 

Jughead hadn’t taken them the past few days. He thought that he was doing better. Guess not. He took what he owed in the days past, and then his regular does, and then some more. He grabbed a beer from his stash under his bed. He stumbled into the kitchen, popped the top, and washed the medication down.

 

He laid on the couch, and before he was knocked out cold as the side effect, he’d learned, for taking so much of his medicine in such a short window of time, he thought of why he was doing this.

 

But this was his response to pain. He had tried so hard to go straight, once he had thought he had picked up a new lead on Betty’s case. But like everything he did, it didn’t matter. She was still being tortured by her father states away. But everytime, whenever something was to go wrong, this was what he would do.

 

There were a few things in common with each episode. He wouldn’t even call them “episodes” anymore, as he had in the beginning. They were too frequent to be out of the ordinary anymore.

 

He would always use the same razor. He would clean it off with rubbing alcohol when he went to the bathroom and was bored. While most people would play on their phones, Jughead would clean his razors. It was A very Jughead thing to do.

 

He would always wash the blood off. He liked watching it go down the drain. He felt like all the bad things, all the bad thoughts in between sessions.

There was one more thing. It always had something to do with Betty. Somehow, someway, even if it wasn’t just her, it was something related to her. Even before they had started dating, he had done it because of her. Because he was hanging by a thread and needed something to save him. 

 

It had been her. She had set him straight, or as straight as a person who was raised like Jughead could be. He had done it every once in a while when they were together, but she would always find out. She would give him a disapproving stare, and then kiss all of the scars better. As time went on, she found herself kissing more and more of his sins. 

 

Back at what was the husk of the Cooper residence, the four of them drifted to sleep. Betty was dreaming, but this time, it was good.

 

She imagined their night together, before all hell broke loose. His skin touching hers. His hands in her hair. Her laying on his chest for the two hours after, listening to the beautiful words her whispered into her ears.

 

She had always loved the words that he spoke to her with in the midst of their private, intimate moments. For their six month anniversary, he wrote her a beautiful something. She didn’t know if it was poem or not. But everything was a poem with Forsythe Pendleton Jones the III.

 

She remembered vividly about how it was everything he loved about her. She wished she had made one for him, as well. She had said it to him, that night, but she wished that she could have written it down, although it would never be as good as Jughead’s.

 

She woke up in the middle of the night. All of her friends were sleeping. She crept upstairs, not even looking down the hallway to Polly’s room.

 

As the blonde approached her vanity, she took in a deep breath. She had always kept it in here, for the days she was breaking out, or had gained a few pounds. She would read it and smile.

 

But today, she would read it.

 

And she would sob.

 

Over how much she missed him. 

 

Over how close he was, and how she couldn’t just reach out and touch him.

 

Tell him she loved him.

 

And it killed her inside.

 

Betty had neglected to ask what Jughead had said to Archie last night. It was the first thing she asked him in the morning. 

 

Archie came up with a lie on his feet. After careful consideration, he decided not to tell her. He wanted them to find themselves again without him interfering. This wasn’t Middle School, after all.

 

Archie had never been in love. He thought that he had been with Ronnie, but apparently he wasn’t. He didn’t really cry when she left him for Cheryl. Of course, he was upset. He had lost his virginity to her, but looking back, he wished he hadn’t.

 

So, simply put, Archie didn’t know love, how to attain it.

 

He lied on the spot, saying that he hadn’t talked about her. He could tell that she was disappointed, but he kept his promise to himself.

 

Jughead was there that day. He might have finally had a chance with Betty. He had actually picked out his outfit that day, and he combed through his hair. 

 

He purposely waited before going to The Blue and Gold. He took an excruciating seven minutes reorganizing his locker. He walked into the Blue and Gold, catching the Blonde’s attention. She looked up, and watched him intently.

 

He grabbed his laptop, and logged on.

 

His password hadn’t changed.

 

It was still Elizabeth8 after, of course, the Blonde’s name, and the day she was born on, August 8. 

 

At first she was sitting, then all of the sudden she was standing. She was still just a mere five feet apart from him. He just wanted to reach out and touch her. Make sure she was still real.

 

She inhaled in preparation for what she was about to say.

 

“Jug?” She asked.

 

He turned around. He wished it was something good. 

 

He realized that she had used one of her nicknames for him. He could feel the sexual tension between them.

 

“Yeah, Betts?” He asked. Hopefulness filled his eyes, although he tried his best as to not depict it in his face.

 

The blonde took a big breath. She wanted to tell him that she loved him, no doubt, but it was too soon. “So, since we can’t avoid each other forever, can we agree to just be civil? Can I start sending you my articles to proofread, and you to me, and we could just go back to, you know, before.”

 

She was clearly uncomfortable. So was he. He wanted to just say “before what?”.

 

But he bit his tongue.

 

“Okay.” He said. It was in that breathless voice that she knew too well, like she was pulling it out of him.

 

So there they sat, two sort of ex-lovers who were kinda together, and kinda broken up. She sat on one side, and occasionally walked over to the archives to pick something up. He sat on the other side, focused on her. 

 

He was writing about her. He had been writing about her, since even before they started dating. Some days, he wrote poetry. Other days, he just filled a page with every reason he loved her. He would write pages filled with individual drabbles on each part of her. There was one about her eyes, her wrists, her hair. Sometimes, he would write letters to her. That was what really helped him, when she was gone. It was the only way that he clung to the hope that she was still alive. 

 

She sat there, oblivious that she was his entire world. They only reason that he was still alive. He had stayed for her.

 

They stayed in this weird standoff, like they had sort of made amends. They hadn’t really acknowledged what had happened. Both of then wanted to, so badly. To say they were sorry, to tell the other that they loved them. But they were both so scared. They didn’t want to fuck up what they had. Even if they both hated being so close, yet so far, they had hated being cold towards each other more.

 

 

 

 

Betty had long been tucked into bed. The three who remained at her house were in the kitchen, talking about whatever it was that high schoolers talked about.

 

“Guys, I haven’t told you something…” Cheryl began. “I saw Betty and Jughead, sitting together in the Blue and Gold. They weren’t talking, they were just there. Just sitting. It was like there was peace between them.” She finished. 

 

“Sorry, I thought that she was going to tell you guys, but I guess she didn’t”

 

“Baby, It’s okay. But maybe, just maybe, that’s why she hasn’t been crying about him as much.” The raven haired girl theorized.

 

“Um, speaking of confessions, I haven’t been totally honest with you guys, or Betty for that matter. But, when I saw Jughead that one night when she had the panic attack, he actually did talk about Betty. Alot. He was crying about how much he loved her, and how stupid he was. I told him to try to attack it slowly. I think that’s what he’s trying to do.” Archie let out. He clenched his eyes together, the way only Archie Andrews did when he was bracing himself for a bad reaction.

 

“Archie, how could you!” Veronica had turned to face the ginger Judas. “You need to tell Betty.” She said firmly, but also quietly, as her best friend was sleeping in the next room over.

 

“No! And you can’t, either. I want them to find each other on their own. I’m giving it until June, and if it doesn’t pan out, we’ll tell her, okay?” The boy asked.

 

Veronica and Cheryl turned towards each other. Cheryl nodded.

 

What they didn’t know was that keeping that secret, and Archie dragging the poor girls into that mess would have disastrous consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of maybe doing 10 chapters instead of 7? tell me what yall think.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter could be extremely triggering to someone with mental health issues. If you can’t handle it, feel free to skip.

So Jones and Cooper sat, still hooked into their stalemate. They had sat like that for 14 days; Jughead had been keeping track.

 

He had gotten so distracted by her. He had forced himself to finish two articles, and that was most of what he had done. His schoolwork was pushed away by thoughts of her. He had only picked up the razor four times. It wasn’t zero, and he wasn’t anywhere from where a normal person should be, but that was still okay.

 

The days were starting to get even longer. It was early May, and the birds were beginning to chirp. 

 

Elizabeth Cooper was also distracted by Jughead Jones. She would pretend to be typing, just to hide the fact that she couldn’t think about anything but him.

 

It was fifth period. She had been in the Blue and Gold since third, with Jughead. She had gotten permission to come down, since her teacher was out having her baby, and she would have sat in structured study hall anyway. Fifth period she had lunch, so she decided just to eat in the newsroom. She could finally get some work done, just her being there.

 

She was working on a story about how to River Vixens program was severely underfunded. She strutted over to the bulletin board, where the staff (although it really only consisted of Betty and Jughead) would post any communal information. Betty grabbed the papers from the interviews with Vixens themselves, Principal Weatherbee, and the PTA. 

 

As Betty pulled out the push pin from the corkboard wall, she saw something that caught her eyes. Her name in a headline. She stepped back. She began ripping pieces off of the board. At the beginning, she did it slow and cautiously, placing the scraps to the side of her on Jughead’s desk. He wasn’t particularly neat, so she figured that he wouldn’t care.

 

But as she uncovered more, she began tearing things off of the board. She stepped back, as she had uncovered the whole thing. It was a “murder board”, whatever Jughead made when he was hot on a case. And it was dedicated to her. 

 

She began tearing apart the room. She knew that she would pay for it later, but in that moment, she didn’t care. She needed something. She needed more. She needed to prove to herself that he still loved her.

 

She came to his laptop. She tried his old login. 

 

Elizabeth 8

 

It still worked. 

 

She was in. She opened to his desktop. It was just the basic blue picture that was default. She looked around the desktop. In the bottom corner, she found a folder titled

 

Elizabeth

 

She opened it. It was filled to the brim. There were pictures, hundreds of them. Pictures all the way back to middle school, and videos, from Mr. Andrew’s dusty old camcorder. She was sitting next to him, and her head was on her shoulder.

 

There were pictures she had forgotten about. Hundreds of them. Each one felt like another rip in her heart. The ones where they were kissing, especially. How she wished she could go back to that.

 

There were articles saved. He really had driven himself crazy over her. 

 

Once she had cleaned out the folder, she moved onto the next space in the room that she was bound to destroy.

 

She went over to his desk, and ran her hands over the documents on the surface. Nothing pertaining to her. She went through every drawer. All of them were open, and she scanned them over, before hungrily moving to the next. She reached the top left drawer, and it was locked shut. She knew there had to be something in there that he was trying to keep from her. 

 

“Goddammit, Jughead!” She cursed out loud. She pulled a bobby pin from the back of her ponytail, and did her thing. The drawer slide open. There was a picture of them at the fair, and a journal.

 

She really hated the fact that she was about to do what she was about to do. But she needed to know. She needed to know more than she needed the air she breathed. 

 

She flipped it open to the first page. As soon as her eyes focused in on the pages, she was on the floor, her back leaning against the wooden frame of Jughead’s desk.

 

There were about 40 pages he had filled with thoughts. According to the date, they began four months before they had gotten together. A lot of them were about her. He was excitedly awaiting her split with Trev. He was finally ready to make a move on the girl he had been pining after since seventh grade.

 

She smiled when she saw it. She flipped through the pages. There was beautiful poetry about her, written from an obvious distance.

 

The next 370 pages took place during the time that they were together. He wrote about how happy he was. How happy she made him. There was beautiful poetry mixed in, it flowed from his brain so naturally. She had to pause multiple times throughout, and just appreciate it. He said that he wanted to marry her. Maybe the second year of college, he would propose. He really was in love with her. But that was when they were together. 

 

The last entry from that section was a recount of their final night together. It was so beautiful, the way he wrote it. He wrote how amazing it was. How he couldn’t wait to do it again.

 

And then she turned the page. 

 

And her world shattered.

 

Because she had found his suicide note.

“So here I am. It’s been five days since you were taken. The date is November 22, 2018. Betty, I don’t think that you’re alive anymore. Part of me does, but a bigger part of me thinks that you are dead. Betty, I love you so fucking much. I want to be with you forever. I miss you so fucking much. I can’t believe that I let them take you. I wish I could have done more. I should have done more. It’s my fault that you’re gone. I should have protected you like you protected me.

 

Julliet, I haven’t been doing good. The cutting has gotten so bad. I do it multiple times a day. I wish you were here to kiss them better. I am so numb. I haven’t felt happy in five days. Baby, I’m going crazy.

 

Please come back. Please come back Elizabeth Cooper. If you come back, i’ll be the best boyfriend ever. I’ll buy you roses that I can’t afford, I’ll show you off to everyone.I’ll never worry you like I did ever again. I’ll cut my heart out. I would give you my life. Betty. Please come back.

 

But you’ll never come back. Because of me. Because I let you go home. Because I didn’t check on you. I just thought that it wasn’t good, and that you wanted space. 

 

Betty, I’m going to go be with you now. We’ll be happy. I know that you believed in heaven. I looked up how to get into heaven. I did the prayer. I followed all the steps. We can finally live in a world where there is no Northside and Southside, no parents who disapprove of who we love. We can be happy Betty. I can make us happy.

 

I love you, Julliet.”

 

 

 

Tears were pouring from her eyes. She broke down on the floor of the school newspaper. He really was going to die to be with her. 

 

She forced herself to keep reading. It was more sad thoughts. The brilliant words that he had written her had been scrawled over, replaced by pleas for her to come back. His life without her. He would write to her as if she was a soldier away at war, and he was her muse, stuck at home, wishing that there wasn’t an ocean separating them.

 

There was another suicide note.

 

It was dated February 14.

 

Valentines day. 

 

 

 

“Betty, I’m sorry. I tried living for you, but I don’t think I can anymore. It should have been me. It should have been me. Your dad at least seemed normal. Mine was the seedy dirtbag who would murder his entire family. 

 

Betts, you have no idea what it’s like on this god awful day. I see everyone so happy. We would have been so happy. I can’t live without you anymore. I can’t look at a heart without thinking of you. I can’t look at pink without imagining your dress on my floor. I can’t sit on my couch without hearing you saying “I love you” over and over. I can’t breathe without feeling guilty. I failed the last time. I hope I don’t this time. I just want to see you again. I would do anything.

 

You would be so disappointed in me. It’s a miracle I haven’t been thrown in a mental institution. I’ve cut every day since you went missing.

 

I can’t stop seeing you everywhere. Betty, Please come home.

 

This day has been so hard. I’m going to go be with you now, as long as you don’t mind.

 

I love you Juliet.”

 

 

She flipped. It was the details about how he was making himself numb. Like instructions, so that whoever took up his cross next would know exactly how to do it.

 

‘Drugs from Fangs. Jingle Jangle preferred. Take 3 tubes for fun, 4 to be put in the hospital, and 5 to have a 10% chance of survival. I guess I must be lucky. Take six antidepressants. Drink one Corona, and one Bud Light. Sit down and wait.

 

For school; two sticks of JJ, two antidepressants.

 

And if you just

 

Want to forget, 4 sticks of JJ, 3 antidepressants, and one beer of your choice.”

 

He had tried so many times he could write a fucking guide on how to do it. 

 

She flipped to the next page. It was a dark poem, no doubt. Blaming himself for her disappearance. 

 

The next pages were mostly the same.

 

Then she came to a page. It was April 13, 2019. The day she was liberated. 

 

“Betty, they found you. Thank god they found you. I don’t know how bad you’ll be messed up. I can’t wait to see you. Archie came over and told me. I started sobbing. You know that I’ve only cried in front of him once. I hope you’ll come back to Riverdale. I could work an extra job, and we could buy a little apartment. I’d ask you to move in, but I don’t want you to be subjected to my dad.

 

But Betts, I’m so scared to see you. I thought you were dead. I gave up on you. I have no clue how you’ll react. I don’t know how i’ll react. If you come back, and ignore me, I don’t know what I’ll do.

 

I love you, so fucking much Elizabeth. I hope you still love me.

 

 

There were pages. He had been watching her. The most recent entry was from today,, third period.

 

He talked about how he wished she knew how he felt. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, even one more chance.

 

He does still love me.

 

 

So there she sat, in her high school newsroom, papers strewn about the floor, crying over beautiful words. Her fingers were cold, she was cold. She wanted to feel him light her up again.

 

She heard the door creak open. She scrambled to her feet, wiping her face on her sweater sleeve.

 

“What the fuck happened in he-” The voice began, before he stopped dead in his tracks. He had seen her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is getting S P I C Y. But I have the day off of school today because a pipe broke in my town and the water is contaminated, so we can’t go to school, yeehaw. So I’ll be stocing up! I love yall! Have a good tuesday!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heres a shitty chapter to get you through an even shittier Valentines day. In other news Cole is paying attention to someone who is NOT Lili and I’m not feeing it so... Have fun on this fucking shitty day. ALSO, I love reading your guys comments, so please tell me what you think.

So there she sat, in her high school newsroom, papers strewn about the floor, crying over beautiful words. Her fingers were cold, she was cold. She wanted to feel him light her up again.

 

She heard the door creak open. She scrambled to her feet, wiping her face on her sweater sleeve.

 

“What the fuck happened in he-” The voice began, before he stopped dead in his tracks. He had seen her.

 

“What the hell, Betty?” he yelled accusingly. 

 

“Is all of this true, Jug? She asked, motioning towards the murder board, his laptop, and the leatherbound notebook that was in her hand.

 

“I’m sorry, Betty, I really am. But I can't do this right now. I’m sorry.” The boy said to her while he turned around.

 

“Forsych, stop pushing me away! Please. At Least talk to me!” She bargained.

 

He turned around reluctantly. He drew in a deep breath and tried to think.

 

“Im, sorry, Betty, I don’t think I can do this right now” He said, turning around.

 

Betty dogged him, running towards the door. He wanted to reach out and grab her, touch her. It was the closest he had come to her since she had made her return. Yet he couldn’t just reach out and touch her.

 

She ran down the hall. He ran after her. They came upon the nook in the stairwells. Their spot. 

 

That only made her cry more.

 

“Betty please.” The boy reasoned.

 

She looked at him. Layers of emotions clouded her beautiful green eyes. He wished he could wipe them all away.

 

“trailer at seven?” He asked. Since the Blonde did not protest, he thought that she agreed.

 

He pulled away from her, and went to move on to whatever it was that he was planning on doing next.

 

Betty went back to the Blue and Gold to try to fix her mess.

 

Betty tried her best to put everything back. She locked his drawer back up.She reorganized his drawers, just the way she knew he liked them.

 

She covered up the murder board once again.

 

She walked out of the room. She was so scared for seven. Yet she was also counting down the hours. They day droned on. She thought about what she would say to him, how it would go, as Betty usually did. It never went to plan, but she needed something to distract her from the fear she felt.

 

All of her friends walked her home. She didn’t go into details about what she had seen. She was never even supposed to see it. She thought that she should at least keep it to herself.

 

They ran up to her room. Cheryl did her makeup, and Veronica had picked her out an outfit. It was a primary colored blouse, with a denim skirt. She laid it on the bed. Since none of the teens knew how to use an iron (they couldn’t find one anyway, and Betty didn’t feel like going looking for it),, Cheryl just used Betty’s hair straightener.

 

“So, Betty, where’s your lingerie at.” Cheryl asked. Archie almost spit out his juicebox. 

 

“Um, Cheryl, I don’t think that will be necessary.” The blonde choked out, trying to shield her friend from the discomfort in her voice.

 

“Betty, wouldn’t you rather be over prepared than under?” The redhead asked her friend.

 

Betty gave an “I guess so” head tilt. 

 

“The red shoebox in my closet.” She finally complied.

 

The tall girl pulled it down. She didn’t look in it, thank god, just handed it to the blonde.

 

“Pick a good one.” She said, beaming. \

 

Betty brought it into the bathroom. She picked a black one. It wasn’t like it mattered. They weren’t going to hook up, and she was positive.

 

But she wished they would. She wished that her lace would be on the bottom of the floor by the time that the night was over.

 

She threw her clothes back on. It was 5:45. She decided that she would start walking over at 6:30. The group spent thirty minutes perfecting her hair, arguing between shoes, and telling her words of affirmation.

 

They waved to her as she left her door. She walked down the sidewalk. The sun had not yet vanished from the sky; otherwise she would have someone drive her. She glanced down to her phone. 6;52. She was a block away. 

 

She had finally stepped into sunnyside trailer park. She walked across to the one that she knew all too well. As she put her foot on the first step towards the door, the door swung open.

 

There he was. He was wearing dark jeans, with a blue button up, rolled up to his elbows, putting his scars on display. He had suspenders on. He looked delicious. 

 

She walked up the rest of the stairs, and shuffled into the tight space. She took a look around. It seemed about the same. He stood across from her watching her. She turned around slowly.

 

The first thing that had caught her eye were his arms. 

 

Some were fresh, some were scared.

 

She walked closer to him, grabbing his arm in her hands.It was the second time they touched. She looked back up at him.

 

He looked ashamed.

 

“Juggy, you still do this?” she asked, her voice shaking.

 

He nodded.

 

Then she bent down, and kissed them one by one.

 

When she came back, looking back at him, tears were threatening to teem from his eyes.

 

“Juggy, I found your stuff in the Blue and Gold. I’m sorry. I just needed to know if you still loved me. Do you?” She asked, her voice breaking from emotions.

 

“Do you?” He asked back at her.

 

“I always will. You couldn’t pay me to stop.” She said back to him.

 

“I never stopped loving you. I don’t think I can.” The scared boy responded. He took a step towards her. He glanced her up and down.

 

He stepped closer.

 

She mirrored. 

 

They kept doing it until their skulls were touching. They were looking down. He grabbed her hands, cupped them together, and kissed them. That was all it took. It was like someone had threw a match into a powder keg.

 

She took his lips in hers, and did what she had been longing for for seven months 

 

To say that it was magical would be ridiculous. Stupid. Fucking radical. But it felt so amazing. 

The pair pulled away from each other. Both had beaming smiles. They attached to each other again. He wrapped his hands behind her, and hers were in his hair, his beanie long discarded to the floor. 

He pulled away, and went back to her neck, leaving scarlet spots all over her neck. He whispered in her ear “jump” and she obeyed.

She wrapped her hands around his neck, and realed her head back, letting him fully attack her neck. He grabbed under her ass, and guided her to the kitchen. 

When they had arrived, he wasted no time. He slammed her into the cupboards, her head feeling pain, before it was instantly compensated for by his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im not writing smut. Sorry. My friends read this shit.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Ive been having a very bad relapse and writers block lately, so please show this chapter some love. Please tell me what you think, I love receiving your comments and theories. 
> 
> Ig: rreinhurts

She woke up in his bed the next morning. She turned over to see him awake next to her. She was lying on his chest, and his hair was tousled in his face. He was just looking at her.

 

“Goodmorning, sleepyhead.” The boy playfully remarked. She beamed back at him.

“Hi Juggy, how did you sleep?” She asked. She began tracing patterns on his chest and around his muscles.

 

“Amazing, princess. I was tuckered out from the night we had. Did you have fun?” he asked

 

She nodded. The night had been incredible. It was even better than the first time.

 

Her phone buzzed, and she looked over to see a message from Veronica.

 

“So you slept over ;)”

 

God, she wished that she was here right now. Not so that she could tell her how amazing it was, or have her look at them, but simply just to punch her in the face. God, she was so annoying sometimes/

 

They stayed like that until the clock struck 11, and then Betty decided to get up and take a shower. Jughead followed. They sat on the couch and watched 2000’s movies the rest of the day. They tried as well as they could to cuddle on the small trailer couch (in an attempt to refrain from the effort needed to expand the pull out couch) but eventually gave up, and stretched out onto the newly transformed pull out couch. 

 

They were in the middle of Legally Blonde when Jughead drifted off to sleep. She let him, and curled up in his arms all the same. It was amazing to be back. She had loved just sitting with him all day. To feel his body just snuggled up against hers, even in the most innocent way, had been incredible. It was like they were slowly relearning the curves of each others bodies, and how they fit together. 

 

He woke up towards the end, though. He stroked The girl’s soft blonde locks, until she got up to put in a new movie.

 

“Another one, Betts?” He groaned.

 

“What, so you want me to go home?” The blonde teased. He viciously shook his head no.

 

She jumped back onto the couch, and he stretched out her arms to her. They readjusted, her putting her head back on his chest. He planted soft kisses all over her forehead, and in response, she grabbed him by the jaw and planted a kiss on his soft lips.

 

“So, Juggy…” Betty began.

 

“Hm, Betts?” He asked. He planted another soft kiss on her forehead.

 

She turned away from him, over on her side. Her face morphed into a serious expression, and he mirrored. He turned over to her, still holding her.

 

“What is it, Betty? Please tell me.” He begged. His eyes glassed over.

 

“No, Jug, I just wanted to know, what are we?” She asked.

 

“Betty, you know I don’t like labels,” He began, before he was interrupted.

 

“But I do, Jug! I need to know what we are, please!” She begged. She looked heartbroken. He hated to see his princess heartbroken.

 

“Okay, okay Betts.” He started.

 

He hopped off of the couch, tossing the thin blanket covering the both of them off.

 

He got down on his knee. By this time, Betty had swung her legs to the side of the pull out bed. Jughead grabbed her hands in his, kissing them softly.

 

“Miss Betty Cooper, would you like to grant me the pleasure of being my girlfriend?” He asked.

 

“Of course, Juggy.” She responded immediately, beaming from ear to ear. He stood up, and she rose to meet him. They collided into each other, before they fell back onto the bed.

 

 

Betty didn’t want to leave. But it was 4:30 in the afternoon, and she needed to go home. 

 

“Betts, are you sure you have to leave? Please stay over, baby.” He begged. He put on his sad face, complete with puppy dog eyes.

 

“Sorry, Jug. I have to go check in with Veronica, Archie, and Cheryl.”

 

“What, and spill to them about how great this dick game is?” He joked.

 

She had sat down on the floor in her haze of gathering the few things and clothes she had discarded to the floor the night before. He sunk down off of the couch to meet her, and she looked up at him, giggling. She grabbed his face and kissed him square on the mouth.

 

“Bye Juggy.” She said, getting up and lacing her fingers within his. She broke away, his hand still reaching out to her. She closed to door behind her, and almost fell down the stairs. It was the first time she had realized that she had just gotten back together with Jughead. If someone would have told that a month ago, she would have laughed in their face.

 

She skipped home, hiding her face in the large black sweatshirt that she had stolen from her boyfriend. How the word felt good rolling off of her tongue. 

 

She unlocked the door, and before she could turn the handle, Veronica opened the door, beaming from ear to ear. 

 

“So, how was it?” She asked. She had obviously noticed that Betty was in a pair of his sweatpants and his oversized sweatshirt.

 

“It was, amazing.” She finally answered.

 

“So, Betty, what happened?” Her redhead friend, dressed in the most flamboyant pajamas that Betty had ever seen, said as she ushered her into the house and shoved her down onto the couch.

 

“Well, so I went over, and we were talking. And I asked him if he still loved me, and I said that I still did. Then he told me that he still loves me.” She said. It was hard to keep the overwhelming joy she felt, finally realizing what had actually happened as she recounted it to her friends.

 

“And then?” The Raven haired girl fished

 

“Then we had sex. Calm down Veronica, it’s not like it was the first time.” She said.

 

“Only once?” Cheryl asked.

 

“Of course more than once!” Betty laughed. Her friends hadn’t seen her this happy since before she was abducted. 

 

Archie Andrews stepped out of the kitchen, holding a plate of mac and cheese. Typical Archie. 

 

“So, Betts, what happened after that?” He called into the living room. 

 

“Then I woke up in his bed. God, it was amazing. Then we had separate showers, and cuddled and watched movies all day. But then we got in a fight, I guess.” She began. She i took a sharp breath, and pushed herself up off of the couch.

 

“Betty, are you okay?” Veronica asked.

 

“Yeah, V, I’m fine. It was just because I asked what we were, and he said he didn’t want labels. I started yelling at him about how I need them.” 

 

Her best friend interjected “and what did he do?” She asked.

 

“Let me finish, V. He got down on one knee, and asked me to be his girlfriend. And then we, yaknow, banged again.” She finished. A look of pride spread over her face. Not just pride, but embarrassment at the same time.

 

“That’s great, Betts. Are you going back tonight?” Cheryl asked.

 

“Well, actually, I was going to clean up and ask him if he wants to go out to Pop’s tonight, and then invite him back here, if that’s okay with you guys?” She asked.

 

Archie retreated nervously into the kitchen. See, there was a reason he hadn’t told Betty about what Jughead had said to her that night, rather than that he just wanted to let them find each other. He had been harboring a secret since she had rolled into town.

 

He had a flaming, intense crush on his next door neighbor, Betty Cooper, who was sleeping with his best friend.

 

As well as young Archibald tried to hide it, he had liked her since the moment she showed up at his door. That's when it came back. He tried to suppress it when she was dating Jughead. The day that Jughead had done it, he had beat him to it. He was going to walk home with her and asked her out. 

 

It was eating him up inside. He wanted to tell her, but the way she described him, he didn’t think he should even try. He couldn’t bear to listen to her talk about him. He didn’t really want to stay at the house. But if it was what Betty wanted, it was what he would do. 

 

The girls ran upstairs, and Archie stayed in the kitchen, gripping the granite countertops. He slammed his plate into the sink, and stormed out of the house. He didn’t want to go home, he wanted to get as far away from wherever Betty and Jughead would be meeting. So he went to the school.

 

He just sat in the 10th grade english room. Cried. It felt good. He hadn’t cried since that night he had been to Jughead’s house. When Betty had calmed down, and everyone was asleep, he locked himself in the bathroom, and cried.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aye. I finally got my steam back. I have almost hit 25,000 words (in the document where I write this) and I'm very excited to show it to you guys! i love all of you so much! Thank you for 75 kudos, that's freaking crazy. 
> 
>  
> 
> ig: rreinhurts

He just sat in the 10th grade english room. Cried. It felt good. He hadn’t cried since that night he had been to Jughead’s house. When Betty had calmed down, and everyone was asleep, he locked himself in the bathroom, and cried.

 

 

 

In the pastel paradise of Betty Cooper’s room, her friends were scrambling about, trying to get her ready. Cheryl picked out a nice dress for her to wear. 

 

“Guys, it’s just Pop’s. It doesn’t warrant a dress!” The blonde insisted.

 

“Nonsense, Betty. It’s your guy’s first date!” Cheryl squealed. 

 

“Not if you’ve been dating for eight months. We've already been on dates. And we’ve also had sex. Usually the order is backwards.” She joked.

 

As Veronica watched her girlfriend pester her best friend, she had noticed two things. One, that Archie wasn’t here, and two, that Betty was happy. Happier than shg had been since before her father killed most everyone she loved. It was like the light was slowly pouring back into her eyes. It was like Jughead had relit the fire that had been burning brightly behind her eyes. \

 

 

It was about 6:50, when the doorbell rang. The girls all hugged their friend for courage, and then released her down the stairs. They came swinging down the stairwell, propelling themselves onto the couch. They got readjusted, as to make it appear like they hadn’t been waiting for him.

 

He was wearing a blue button up shirt with suspenders. His sleeves were rolled to half length, appropriate for the May weather, Sheh noticed that their were no fresh scars. That made her happy. His hat was crushed onto his head, and he was wearing black skinny jeans.

 

He looked her up and down, flashing a brilliant smile. She giggled, feeling his eyes on her. He reached out to her taking her hand, and spinning her around. They smooched fast, and then backed away from each other.

 

“Hey, Betts.” He laughed.

 

“Hey, Jug!” She giggled.

 

“Hey, Juggie.” The girls mocked from the couch. Betty turned around, grabbed Cheryl’s car keys off of the entry table, and threw them at her playfully.

 

“Hello there, ladies.” He joked back at them.

 

The group laughed, before Betty grabbed her coat, and waved goodbye. 

 

The pair walked to Pop’s as the sun began running towards the hills on the outside of the valley. Their hands were intertwined. 

 

“You look beautiful, Betts.” He beamed.

 

“Thanks, Juggie. I have to talk to you when we get there, okay? I feel like we both have no clue what happened to the other person for six months, and I don’t want there to be any secrets, you know?”

 

He nodded. The duo walked the rest of the way. The bell to the diner rang as the pair walked in. Even Pop Tate looked like he had just shit his pants. Being the kind, non-threatening jolly man who was a good listener, everyone told him everything, and maybe Cheryl had let a detail or two of the two’s ongoing trauma slip.

 

They sat themselves across from each other in the same vinyl booth that they would lounge before their relationship splintered. Pop rushed to their table, and took their order. Betty wasn’t particularly hungry, but she ordered a lot of food for “herself”. 

 

She knew that the last time that he had confided his deepest woes in her, things weren’t good at home. He looked almost too skinny. She had no clue if he was eating. She would pretend like she was overwhelmed by the food, and then let him pick it off of her plate.

 

“So, Juggie, I think I should start telling you what happened that night. I want you to not get mad. Please, Jug. I don’t think I can handle it.” She began, in a frenzied state.

 

“Betty, it’s okay. I’m just happy you’re safe now. Whatever happened was in the past. I’m with you now, Betts. Whatever happened isn’t your fault. Okay?” He soothed, grabbing her hands across the table and taking them softly in his. She nodded.

 

“So after I got home from your house, I walked into mine. I was so happy with what had happened. And I tripped over something. It was my mom. She was dead. Then I saw my father. He was sitting on the couch, and Polly was bound next to him. He told me to ‘join him’, whatever that meant. Go with him. I said no, of course. And then people came up behind me and dragged me up the stairs.” 

 

Her face tensed. Across the table, the young boy cupped her cheek, running his thumb along her undereye gently. She braced herself for what was to come next.

 

“Then we went into the Twin’s room. He picked up Dagwood first, and asked me again. I said no. Then,” she paused, tears beginning to fall down her smooth skin and onto his hand.

 

“Then he stabbed him. And Juniper. Polly was rolling around on the ground. She was screaming. There was blood everywhere.”

 

“Betty, I am so sorry. I can’t be-“ The boy began, before he was cut of by his Blond girlfriend.

 

“That’s not all, Jug. Then he took us down to the basement, and gave me one more chance. I said no. So he decapitates her. And I had to watch. Then they just left her there, like she was nothing. They dragged me into the kitchen, and then drugged me. I woke up in a dingy apartment. Turned out to be in Indiana.” She forced out. She started gasping for breath.

 

“Jug, I wanted to escape so bad. I just wanted to see you. But he told me that if I ever tried, that he would get you, Veronica, and Archie, and bring them to Indianna. Then he would slowly kill all of us. I would watch you all die in front of me. I couldn't have more blood on my hands. I’m sorry, Juggie.” She sobbed.

 

He got up out of his seat across from her, and slid into the vinyl booth beside her. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shirt.

 

“Shh, it’s okay now, Betty. You’re here now. That’s all I care about. I have you back.” She whispered into her ear.

 

Slowly, she sat up. She looked about to make sure that no one was listening, and then whispered into his ear “was I any different last night?” Before pulling away with eyes filled with embarrassment.

 

“I mean, yes, because it wasn’t the first time, but no, you were great.” He offered.

 

“Juggie, that wasn’t my second time. When I was in that horrible place, he raped me. More than once a day. It was bad. I just thought I needed to tell you. Please don’t judge me, like everyone else. Please Jug, I can’t have you hating me too.” She sobbed. She was choking on her own spit. 

 

He grabbed her head and pulled it to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. She cried until someone else came into the diner, and she had to gather herself.

 

“Betty, your father was a monster. I would never blame you for what happened. You are so strong to come back here. Okay?” Jughead told her.

 

“Betty, I haven’t been completely honest with you either. I don’t know if you heard, but I joined the serpents.” He began. The blonde nodded. “And now, I might be becoming king.” He confessed.

 

“It’s okay, Juggie. We’ll get through it together, okay?” She reaffirmed.

 

“But that’s not all. As I’m sure you’re aware from reading my shit, don’t do that again by the way, but I haven’t been doing great. I tried to kill myself four times since you left. It never worked, obviously. And I’ve been cutting a lot more, as you can see.” He motioned to his arms.

“Betty, my dad has been horrible. He’s drinking so much now, I don’t know what to do. He comes home from the Wyrm and tries to hit me.” His face sucked into a sour expression. He was trying not to cry.

 

“And I think I’m addicted to drugs. Or at least almost addicted.” He finished. Now there were tears streaming down his face. She took his place, grabbing his face, and hugging him to her body.

 

“Juggie, it will be okay. We’ll get through it together. Okay? Okay? Do you believe me?” She begged.

 

He nodded. After they had both gathered themselves, Jughead slid back into his seat. Pop came over with their meals, and within seconds, they were all smiles. As expected, Jughead picked off of her plate, until it was 7:15 and the sun was gone. After they had paid, they gathered their things and walked back to her house.

 

“Betty, I’m going to be honest with you. The serpents don’t approve of you. What happened between us before, they know. They don’t know what happened now. They know what I did, and they think it’s because of you. I just think it’s better if we keep it to ourselves, just so that I can have a chance to tell them, okay?” 

 

“Okay Jug. I trust you. Just do it soon, okay? I just want to tell the world how much I love Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Third.” She teased.

 

“Fine, Elizabeth Marie Cooper.” He joked back at her. 

 

“Jokes on you, Forsythe. It doesn’t faze me anymore.” The blonde giggled, jokingly punching her beau in the side.

 

“Hmm.” 

 

The next morning, it was he who woke up in her bed. She was nowhere to be found. He jumped out of the bed, running fearfully to the bathroom, and flinging the door open. He gazed around the cool toned tile and it's walls, even taking an extra moment to pull back the shower curtain, but it was no use, he could not find her. 

 

He levitated down the stairs, his feet not running, but slipping out from underneath him as he continued his frenzied search for her.

 

If someone had taken her from him again, right while he was there, he would

 

Lose

 

His

 

Fucking

 

Mind.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for 2k hits! Ily!

If someone had taken her from him again, right while he was there, he would

 

Lose

 

His

 

Fucking

 

Mind.

 

 

 

 

He rounded the stairwell into the living room, swinging briefly on the final pole of the stairwell. 

 

“Betty! Betts! Betty! Where are you!” The terrified boy yelled out. He couldn’t lose her again.

 

The blonde rounded the corner of the kitchen, almost colliding, risking the contact of the hot bacon grease from the plastic spatula still in her grasp against his bare skin.

 

“I’m right here, Juggie. What’s up?” she asked urgently, before she was whisked off her feet. The spatula dropped to the floor with a soft clatter, as he buried his head in her chest whilst spinning her around. 

 

“Jug, what happened?” She asked, clearly puzzled. She knew he loved bacon, but jeez, this was a little much. 

 

“Betty, I thought you were gone. I might just be paranoid, but I thought that someone took you, while I was right there, and that I let you go. I’m sorry Betty, I was just so worried.” He sobbed into her shoulder. He put her down, and backed away.

 

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled. His eyes jutted towards the floor. His cheeks became red, and his adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.

 

“Juggie, it’s okay. I should have woken you up first, I’m sorry. Don’t be embarrassed. Thank you for caring about me so much.” She smiled, stepping forward to cup her cheek in his hands.

 

He gazed back into her eyes, raising his eyebrows.

 

“Damn, a woman who can cook, and who has empathy. I really have a 10/10.” He mocked.

 

There was a comfortable silence that fell between them. He took in a deep breath.

 

“I love you, Cooper.” He whispered into her ear. She pulled apart. She had a look of shock on her face.

 

“I love you too, Jughead.” She breathlessly forced out. 

 

It wasn’t that she didn’t mean it, it was just that she was perplexed that he had just said it. 

 

He was scared. She could see it in his eyes. Maybe it was too soon. 

 

Then, without warning, she grabbed him by his face and pulled him towards her. 

 

They broke apart, both out of breath. They both felt awkward, all of the sudden. 

 

“So this is where we have sex.” He joked. 

 

Betty scoffed, scooting around him to grab her utensil off of the floor.

 

“Get dressed, then come down and eat. If you help me clean up then maybe.” She winked, shooing him away.

 

He ran back up to her bedroom and grabbed his clothes from the night before, throwing on his hoodie that she had stolen from him, found on her bathroom floor.

 

He trotted back down the stairs, and walked into the kitchen. She was piling scrambled eggs onto his plate when he sat down at the granite island in the middle of her kitchen. She slid her mothers fine china towards him. 

 

“Wow, nice.” He began. He was going to mention “Mama Coop”, his favorite trope, be he decided against it, seeing that she was no longer with her. You never make a girl who you are sleeping with who just made you breakfast cry when it was not warranted.

 

She had her pajamas on, and her hair was down. 

 

As she brought her own plate to sit across him, She reached across the table and kissed him softly on the nose.

 

“Thanks for this, Betts. And I’m sorry for freaking out.” He apologized.

 

“It’s okay, Juggie. You had a reason. I’ll never leave you again.” She affirmed.

 

They ate their breakfast in silence, speaking a few words here and there between mouthfuls of toast.

 

“So, what do you want to do today?” The boy asked.

 

“Well, first you have to help me clean up, then we, you know, and then maybe we can go to the carnival a few towns over? What do you think?” 

 

“Sounds perfect.” He replied.

 

Betty threw her plate into the sink unceremoniously, grabbing her boyfriends and tossing it in as well.

 

“Hey, I wasn’t done with my toast!” The boy, sans beanie, playfully scolded. 

 

“The sooner we clean up…” She teased.

 

He got out of his seat, and then jumped over to the skillet, eagerly placing it into the kitchen sink. Betty took over dish duty, as Jughead wiped down the tables and put everything back in the refrigerator.

 

When they were done, the pair wafted up the stairs and into the teens light pink bedroom that smelled like strawberries and and faintly of blood. He shut the door behind them. 

 

He sat on the bed, as she opened up her wardrobe. 

 

“Ugh, I don’t know what to wear. I don’t know where my mom took my summer clothes before, you know.” She breathed in and out. She was getting flustered, her cheeks filling with color.

 

He crept up behind her, wrapping his arms around her abdomen, and placing his head in the crook of her neck, and kissed her neck and collarbone once.

 

“Hey, calm down, it’s okay. We’ll find some, or go to goodwill, or I could run home and get something for you. It’s okay, do you want me to call Veronica? She can bring you something.” He suggested, speaking softly into her ear. He kissed her temple. 

 

“Okay, can you check the attic with me? I don’t want to go up there alone, I don’t think I can, But I think that’s where my clothes are.” 

 

“Okay, Betts. Do you want to go now?” He asked. 

 

She nodded, and he snaked his arms back behind her, lifting his head off of her shoulder. They walked up the stairs together. She rested her head on his shoulder as he opened the door to the musty basement. They poked around, walking cautiously. She finally finds a Tupperware bin with all of her shorts and tank tops inside.

“Bingo!” She yelled out excitedly.

 

She pulled the lid off of the dusty plastic storage bin. 

 

“God, I had awful taste in fashion last summer, hmm?” She turned to him.

 

“Well, I think that it’s perfect. But if you really want to change it, I’ll take you shopping next weekend, okay?” He asked.

 

“No, Jug, It’s fine, this is fine. It’s clothes, so it’s good.” She beamed, as she fumbled with the large bin.

 

“Hey, let me take that.” He said beckoning the bin towards him. She floated down the creaky stairs, him lifting the box over his head to fit it through the tight space. They closed the door, and walked back to her room.

 

She got changed quickly as she sat on her bed. When she threw on her sandals, and decided to go into the bathroom to comb through her hair, Jughead’s phone lit up.

 

He was receiving a call from Sweet Pea.

 

“Hey Betts, do you mind if I go take this call downstairs?” He spoke through the wooden door.

 

“Go ahead, Jug. I’ll be down in a minute, okay?” 

 

Before she had even finished, he was running out of her room with his phone in his hands like it was a hotcake about to explode.

 

As soon as his feet hit the ground of the first floor, he answered and put it up to his ear.

 

“God, Jones, what took you so long?” The boy on the other line asked.

 

He thought of a lie on his feet.

 

“I was in the kitchen. What do you want, it’s Sunday. No serpent business on Sundays, lest you forgot.” 

 

“We have a problem. The Ghoulies are threatening another gang war over JJ selling spheres of influence. We need you on the frontlines, Jones. Now.” The boy spoke into the intercom on his burner phone.

 

As Jughead paced around Betty Cooper’s living room, it became increasingly apparent that the day most likely wouldn’t be going as they had planned.

 

“I can’t today, Pea. I’m sorry, I’m just busy today.” He uttered, careful that Betty wouldn’t hear.

 

“I don’t care, Jones. This is war. We could be killed, the Wyrm could be taken. The serpents are on the brink of extinction, you know that. We can’t take risks today. You need to get your ass down to the Wyrm, right now.” 

 

“Sweet Pea, I can’t right now. You’re just going to have to deal with it for now. You’re second in command. Consider it me priming you to take over when I go to college, hmm?” He bargained, leaning into the stairwell to keep his eyes trained on Betty’s door.

 

“Why Jones. What could possibly be more important than us? Huh? Entertain me, please, so that I can tell the rest of them so that when you get here they can rip you apart!” He scolded into the receiver.

 

“I can’t tell you, just know that it’s a good reason.” He insisted.

 

“Oh, I get it. Your leaving the Serpents for that Cooper slut like you wanted to do when she rolled back into town. She almost cost you us, which almost costed all of us the serpents. So instead of being here, your going to run around with her on your little honeymoon!”

 

“No, no no no no no. That’s not why. I just can’t. I’m sorry.” He stuttered into the microphone.

 

“You took an oath.” His second in command reminded him.

 

“Listen Sweet Pea, I can come and help you set up, make plans, for maybe 15 minutes, but then I have to go, okay?” He bargained, scrunching his face up in response for the reaction that was to come.

 

“Fine. Be like that. What a leader you are.” He spit into the phone before hanging up.

 

“Jug, are you okay?” He heard her sweet voice call down the stairs.

 

“Yeah, Betty.” He said, running up the stairs. When he entered the doorway, her bathroom door was open, with her in the doorway, hand resting on the doorknob.

“Are you sure, Jug, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

 

On one hand, he could lie. But maybe it was better to just tell her the truth.

 

“Betty, it was the serpents. I just need to go see them for a moment, please?” He begged.

 

“So, this is us now?” She asked weakly.

 

Oh no. He didn’t want to start a fight.

 

“I’m sorry, Betty. It’s just till I tell the Serpents, okay? I swear I’ll do it soon, okay?” He reasoned.

 

“Okay Jug. What do you need me to do?” She reluctantly gave in. 

 

“Just wait here, okay. Call Archie over or something, I’ll be back in thirty minutes, okay? Then we can spend the entire day together, sound good?” He asked.

 

She just nodded.

 

“Thank you, I love you. I’ll be back in T-minus-thirty-minutes, okay?” He reaffirmed.

 

She just nodded again. He reached down to grab his beanie from where it had resided on the floor, before he crept out of her room.

 

This was her life now.

 

Jughead ran home, sweating through his nicest shirt. He threw open the door of the trailer, and ran into the back room, unhooking his suspenders and unbuttoning his shirt. He threw a simple t-shirt on and went back into the kitchen, grabbing his serpent jacket off of the hook near the door, and shoving his keys in his pocket. 

 

He jumped out onto his motorcycle, turning his key until it purred gently. He pushed off, and rode as high as the speed limit allowed to the Wyrm. When he pulled in, the young serpents were gathered by their bikes.

 

“Well, well well, someone finally showed up.” Toni yelled out to him, while he pulled his helmet off of his head, swapping it for his beanie.

 

Fangs, Sweet Pea, Joaquin. Toni, and Moose were waiting for him.

 

“What the hell, guys, Sunday is personal day.” He shot back at them.

 

“Sorry, just wanted to make sure you were still alive, and that your dick was still attached.” Fangs spit.

 

“You haven't answered any of our texts all weekend, Jones!” Moose yelled at him.

 

“Sorry, I was on a bender,” He lied.

 

“Oh no you weren't. I went to check on you last night, and you weren’t at the trailer. So where could you have been besides with Betty?” Toni fired.

 

“I was at Archies. He found me and took me home to keep an eye on me. I’m not talking to Betty, you guys know that.” He lied once again.

 

“You better not be, Jones, or you’ll have hell to pay. And if you’re lying to us right now, then say your prayers.” Sweet Pea warned.

 

“So, There is no gang war, and you just wasted my time for nothing?” He demanded.

 

“Oh, not all for nothing, Juggy. Now we know that you were with her.” Toni yelled as he was backing away towards his bike, a smug look covering his face.

 

“Watch it, Topaz, I could have you out of here, serpent blood or not.” He said, even more smug.

 

“I’ll be damned if anyone would let you.” She fired back.

 

“Then I’ll kick them out, too. Just another perk of being serpent king.” He grinned.

 

He turned around to his bike. The group was flabbergasted. 

 

He rode out of the bar’s parking lot, as Fangs launched his empty beer can in his direction, missing him by meters.

 

He could almost chuckle.

 

Almost.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I’m sorry for the late upload. I am currently on the bus to Sectionals. I hope you guys stay intrested in the story, definitely some drama coming up.   
> Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I probably don’t say it as mich as I should, but this story and the people who read it mean the world to me. Feel free to reach me on tumblr: @rreinhurts or on Instagram: @rreinhurts. Okay, that’s all. Happy reading.

He parked the motorcycle outside of the Cooper home. He rung the doorbell. He looked through the peephole, but to no luck. She wasn’t coming to the door. He snuck around the shrubbery, and pulled the ladder towards her bedroom window. It was open.

 

Was it open when I left? He wondered.

 

Oh god.

 

What if they had tapped his phone, and came when he wasn’t home.

 

He pillaged around her room, before running out. Maybe he was screaming her name. He didn’t remember.

 

Then he found her. The door to Polly’s room had been left open, and she was sitting on her bed, with her head buried into her knees. She didn’t look up when he entered the room. He ran over to her.

 

“Betty, Betts, are you okay?” He asked, wrapping her in his arms.

 

“Jug. I finally realized. It was me. Me who killed her. I did it. Everywhere I look, she’s there. The twins are there. My mom is there. I killed them. I should have just gone with my dad.” She sobbed, lifting her head from her ball.

 

He took her head, swaddling her in his arms. Her tears ran down the leather of his jacket.

 

“Elizabeth, don’t you ever say that again. Your dad was a monster. He killed them. He would have if you would have come with him. What happened isn’t your fault. It will never be your fault.”

 

She looked back up at him, her under eye red and puffy, tears pouring from her eyes.

 

“But I hurt you Jug.” She sobbed, reaching for his arm. She pulled back the sleeve of his jaket with her thumbs, beckoning to his scars

 

“And you also healed me. I’m still here.” He whispered softly, his voice strained.

 

He cradled her in his arms, her tears soaking into the soft cotton of his t-shirt.

 

They sat like this for a while, before she sat up.

 

“Okay, I’m good. It’s 11, we could still have a full day at the carnival.” She suggested, as though she was unfazed by the breakdown that she had just had.

 

They sat up off of the bed, and made their way to her room. He followed after her. As they had made it a few feet down towards her room, she made a turn back towards her sisters bedroom.

 

His head swivels, until he saw her gently close the door, then run back in front of him, opening hers.

 

They walked in, and she went to fix her makeup.

 

“Betty, have I ever told you how much I love your room?” He asked, his head splayed backwards as his feet hung off the otherside of the bed. He was watching her fix her concealer upside down.

 

“No, I don’t believe you have, Jug.” She giggled.

 

“Well, I love how comfy your bed is. I haven't slept this well in a decade. And I love how the decor is so, you, and so opposite of me. It’s so inviting. And your room smells like strawberries and mint. I like the window seat. I like climbing up here. I love how soft your sheets are. And how you have all of my favorite books on a shelf. And how the walls have polka-dots on them. It very you.” He joked.

 

“Wow, Jug. I thought that was going to be a sweet sentiment until you messaged the fucking polka dots, you jerk.” She laughed, throwing her hairbrush to him.

 

“Hey, that could have killed me, woman!” He yelled out. 

 

“Oops.” She mocked.

 

“Okay. I’m ready.” She announced, bounding out of the bathroom. Her hair was down for a change. She looked nice.

 

He escorted her out of the house. 

 

“Do you want to take the station wagon?” She asked as they bounded down the stairs.

 

“Um, actually, I had something else planned.” He smiled as she turned towards him, a confused expression twisted onto her face.

 

She opened up the door to find his motorcycle sitting in the driveway. 

 

“Oh my god, Jug.” She squealed.

 

“I knew you would really like it.”

 

“Wow, you really are Romeo trapped in a modern boys body.” She joked.

 

“‘Did my heart love till now?”’ He quoted. She loved when he quoted poetry.

 

She walked into her garage from the side entrance, and grabbed the helmet her mother insisted on buying her when she got off of it without one one night.

 

He leaned against his bike waiting for her, scraping some bird poop off of his helmet.

 

She came out with her hair stuffed under the pink helmet. She had wanted a black one, of course, to match his, but her mother had said absolutely not. If she must be riding a motorcycle, she should at least keep up some of her fabricated good girl image.

 

He shoved his on, swinging his leg over the bed of leather, and shoving his key into the ignition. 

 

She swung on behind him, the weight shifting as she joined him. 

 

She loved riding his motorcycle. She loved when she was wearing short sleeves, and he was in his serpent jacket, and how the sweat of the leather in the heat would stick against her skin. She would always close her eyes and put her head against his shoulder, nestle her nose in his hair. He always smelled like spice and stale beer. It smelled like the trailer but better. 

 

He turned around to look at her, smiling dumbly.

 

“What are you thinking about, Juggie?”

 

“You.” He responded smuggly.

 

She smiled, pecking him on the lips. He turned back around.

 

“Onward!” She commanded in a deep voice, like she was emulating an old viking, or colonel.

 

As they speed down the quiet streets of Riverdale, she melted into him, feeling the worn leather of his Jacket press against her cheek. If only her mother were here to see them.

 

These were some of her favorite parts of being in love with Jughead Jones. These were one of the most intimate moments the couple had. It was better than sex, in her personal opinion. Just being able to feel each other, no talking. She knew that he needed to concentrate, and she let him, but he still played a fair amount of attention to the person on his back.

 

“His little leach” He had called her.

 

As he parked his bike, she climbed off, setting her pastel helmet on the seat. She pulled at the hem of her shorts, making the seams of them match back up with her finger tips. Betty definitely wasn’t conservative by any means; however she did consider herself sensible. He looked back up at her, fastening his parking ticket to his handlebar.

 

Her cheeks flustered with red, as she looked at the ground. Nce he had snapped the ticket onto his handlebar, he walked around to join her on the right side of the bike. Taking his hand in hers, they walked into the fairgrounds.

 

“You know, you’re awful sexy when you ride that motorcycle.” She teased.

 

“Just keeping your transportation safe, Cooper.” He sarcastically said.

 

When they came to the booth to get their tickets, there was a long line, filled mostly of entitled parents and their whining children. As out of place as the couple felt, they waited out the line.

 

“So how many tickets do we want?” The blonde asked.

 

“I dunno. It depends how hardcore you want to be, Betts.” He giggled.

 

She punched him playfully in the side.

 

“C’mon, Jug. How may do we want?” She asked once again.

 

“Hmm, let's get the 36 pack. Gives us a good six rides, give or take.” He reasoned.

 

“Okay.” 

 

When they had approached the counter, there was a worker there who looked to be about their age. Whoever the sad sap was, she felt almost bad. 

 

They had payed for the tickets, when the worker had noticed his serpent jacket. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, before sliding the tickets towards them, as though they were a plague that he couldn’t bear to touch.

 

As they took their tickets and turned around, she leaned in to whisper into his ear.

 

“That was weird.”

 

“You didn’t notice before? We’ve been getting looks all day. It’s the jacket.” He explained.

 

She just nodded. 

 

“Jughead. When are you going to tell them?” 

 

He breathed in deep, as though he was trying to gather his innermost thoughts.

 

“Betty, truthfully, I don’t know. They truly hate you. I don’t say hate lightly, you know that. I don’t know when to tell them. I was thinking that maybe I would do it tomorrow. I just feel like I dug myself into a hole that I can’t get out of.”

 

She looked back up to him. 

 

“Okay. But please, please do it soon.” She begged.

 

He looked up, as they got in line for the tilt-a-whirl. As soon as they stepped up to take their booth, it was as though the past conversation had faded into oblivion. As the clunky bar to secure them in closed over them, he whisked her under his arms, planting a long kiss onto her forehead.

 

As the ride began emitting that weird mechanical buzz, they slid across the seat. They were laughing, as they collided into each other. As it finished, they were both dizzy, and their vision blurred together as they pushed the rusty metal bar off of their laps.

 

She stepped off onto the platform, as she held out her arms to keep her balance. He joined after her, placing his hands on her hips as she guided him out of the ride.

 

As they planted their feet on the ground, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her closer to him, swaying.

 

They walked around, scouting out the tall rides in the distance that they planned on going on later.

 

She had bought herself cotton candy, which he picked off of until it was almost gone.

 

They stumbled upon one of those dart throwing games, when he pulled out his wallet.

 

“Jug, what are you doing?” she asked, tossing the empty cotton candy cone into the nearby bin. 

 

“I’m going to win you something.” He explained, handing the waiter a $20 bill, before being greeted by a 40 bucket of darts.

 

“Juggie, you don’t have to do that.” She tried to tell him, but to no avail.

 

“No Betts, I’m going to win you the biggest thing I can. And besides, I like darts. I do it at the the Wyrm with Moose all the time.” He explained.

 

She just smiled, accepting that at this point, once he had set his sight on something for his queen, he wouldn’t be giving up.

 

She watched as he closed one eye, resting his elbow on the carpeted table of the little booth, as the young employee stood a safe distance away.

 

He threw the dart, and hit a balloon. He repeated the process several times, until he came to the final dart.

 

“Here, Betts. You throw the last one.” He offered the arrow towards her.

 

She tried to emulate his style, closing one eye, and after a few seconds, on an exhale, she threw the red arrow, hitting a balloon.

 

“Good job, Betty.” He appeared pridefully by her side, wrapping his arms around her back, keeping her at a distance away from him, just to look at her.

 

As the worker handed her the big teddy bear that he had won for her, she smiled, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

 

“Thank you, Juggy.” She whispered in his ear.

 

“Anything for my princess.”

 

As the sun began to run towards the trees, they left the park. Betty placed the bear in the compartment under the seat, before hopping onto the seat behind him, and melting into him.

 

 

When he woke up the next morning by her alarm clock, she was in his arms, awake next to him. 

 

“Goodmorning, bedhead.” she laughed, reaching up to tousle his hair.

 

“Hey, I’m going to go home and then school. We’ll make it work until I tell them. I just can’t step out of a shiny red convertible with you, or else they’ll figure it out.” he explained. She nodded.

 

“At Least stay for breakfast?” she asked.

 

“Okay” he grudgingly obliged.

 

She crept downstairs, opening up the cabinet, and throwing a half-empty cereal box onto the counter, fishing him a bowl from the highest cabinet. 

 

He poured himself a bowl.

 

“So, are you going to tell them today?” 

 

He looked up from his cereal. He definitely hadn’t expected her to be this persistent.

 

“I’ll try, Betty, I’ll try.” He sighed.

 

She obviously wasn’t happy with his response, clattering her half-eaten bowl into the kitchen sink.

 

As he shoveled the cereal into his mouth, she cocked her head back, sighing. He passed his bowl into the sink.

 

He got up slowly, keeping eye contact with Betty. He turned around, grabbing his serpent jacket off to the chair in the living room.

 

He left, looking back over his shoulder at her, she was just staring, not breaking eye contact as she had before.

 

He walked out her doorway, closing the door behind him, and walking to his bike. He wondered what had switched in her overnight. Of course, it made sense that she would be mad at him for not telling the serpents about her yet. It was just strange how yesterday she was all over him, and today she was so cold towards him.

 

She walked back up the stairs towards her room. She sat on the bed, trying to properly wake up. Usually, she would just go back to sleep, collapsing on the bed, and her mom would come wake her up, and she would just have to hustle a bit, but being as she llived alone now, it wasn’t an option.

 

As much as she hated getting up, she had already missed six months of school, and couldn’t bear to miss any more. As much as she wanted to show she was a loose cannon, she also had a natural affinity to doing well.

 

So she pulled herself off of her pink duvet, and walked into her bathroom. She took a comb and brushed through her tangles bedhead. She pulled concelor over her undereye bags, and blended it out with her fingers. Veronica deffinitely would have screamed at here that she was doing it wrong, but she just needed to pull herself together and look presentable for school.

 

She opened up her wardrobe, and pulled out some random articles, one from the right top, one from the left bottom, and threw them onto herself. She flipped her hair over, pulling her hair into the tight ponytail she used to differ the attention from herself.

 

On the other side of town, the Southside, a distressed Jughead Jones was pulling into sunnyside trailer park. As he parked his motorcyle by the landing of the trailer, he stepped off. He snatched his keys from his pocket whilst walking up the stairs, but there was no need, as the door swung openas he reached the final step.

 

It was Toni.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody, I am sincerley sorry for the inconsistency of my postings.  
> I am currently working on another work, which will be out hopefully the 25?, with weekly updates. It will be beta-ed, which will be good. Anyway, enjoy this chapter.  
> Sorry for any typos, this is unbetaed.

 

 

 

 

 

On the other side of town, the Southside, a distressed Jughead Jones was pulling into sunnyside trailer park. As he parked his motorcyle by the landing of the trailer, he stepped off. He snatched his keys from his pocket whilst walking up the stairs, but there was no need, as the door swung openas he reached the final step.

  
  


It was Toni.

  
  


“Welcome home, Jones. Where have you been?” She demanded.

  
  


Jughead was flabergasted. The morning really hadn’t been on Jughead’s side. He tried to think of a lie.

  
  


“Um, I was, at Archie’s” He fibbed.

  
  


The serpent across from him raised her eyebrow, a smug look on her face.

  
  


She cocked her head to the side, as though she was asking a rhetorical question. “Really? Andrews? Then explain why I drove by looking for you and found you rbike parked outside of Betty Cooper’s house?”

  
  


“Toni. You can’t do this to me.” He began, before he was cut short.

  
  


“Why shouldn’t I, Jughead. You lied to me. You lied to the Serpents. Why, Jug?” She asked.

  
  


“Because, Toni. I almost destroyed myself with her last time. I almost dragged the Serpents down with me. And they’ve made it very apparent that they hate her. They hate the idea of us. I have no clue how to tell them now. Betty is mad at me. You’re mad at me. They’re all mad at me. Toni, I have no clue what to do.” He yelled back into her face, hoping noone would hear.

  
  


“Jones, you better tell them quick. Remember the laws?” 

  
  


“Yeah, I remember, I just need to find the right time.” He explained, walking over to the kitchen counter, putting his elbows onto the table and then leaning onto his hands.

  
  


“Jughead, how long?” She asked.

  
  


“Since Friday night. Not that long.” He exhaled.

  
  


“But still long enough to tell us, huh? Jug, I think they already know. Watch your back, and tell them soon. I’m done babysitting you, you should be the leader. Goodbye.” She turned on the heel of her combat boots out of the trailer, slamming the door behind her.

  
  


Jughead walked into the bathroom, and repeated his daily routine of sliding razors against his veins. Then he cleaned up, got changed, and went to school.

  
  


Betty Cooper had been cleaning the dishes from breakfast that she had left to get ready, when she heard the honk of Cheryl’s horn. She grabbed her school bag, and walked out of her front door.

  
  


“Where’d you drop off of the face of the earth to?” Her black haired best friend chimed in. 

  
  


She just smiled. As soon as she stepped into the backseat of the car with Archie, the girlfriends began bombarding her with questions.

  
  


“So, what was the date like?”

  
  


“It was really good. We went to Pops, and then back to my place. Then, in the morning, I made him bacon. He had Serpent business, and had to leave, but while he was gone, I went into Polly’s room. It was a mistake. But he came back and found me, and made me feel better. Then we went to the carnival on his motorcycle, and he won me a stuffed animal. It was really cute.”

  
  


“Awe, that’s really cute, Betty.” Cheryl siad, trying to focus on the road whilst also listening to her friend.

  
  


“But were kind of in a fight right now, I think.” She tried to explain.

  
  


Archie, transfering his gaze from the opposite side of the street to Betty at what he deemed good news, and Cheryl and Veronica, swerving the car as they all simultaniously, as cliche as it sounds, said “about what?”.

  
  


She took in a large inhale. “He hasn’t told the Serpents yet. And he needs to, he just keeps putting it off.” 

  
  


“Betty, that’s not that bad. I mean, you guys have only been together for two days, for crying out loud. I don’t know what to tell you.” The raven haired girl offered her best friend.

  
  


“I know, but he needs to do it.” 

  
  


As they arrived at the school, they jumped out of the car. At the same time, Jughead had finished his walk to school, meeting up with the Serpents, leaning against Fang’s car.

  
  


“Hey Jones.” Sweet Pea said coldly, snickering.

  
  


“Pea.” He asnwered back.

  
  


They all went back to their conversation, but Toni stared at him. Maybe he should have told them then. But he didn’t.

  
  


It was third period again, and Betty had just walked into the Blue and Gold. It took about fifteen seconds of her sitting down and pulling her laptop from her bag, until the door was creaked open by no other than the boy himself.

  
  


“Hey Jug.” She offered, glancing towards him once, before returning her gaze to the startup screen of her laptop.

  
  


He shrugged his messenger bag off of his shoulder, setting it on his desk. He coasted over to where she was sitting, leaning against her desk.

  
  


“Betty, were you okay this morning?” He asked weakly. He really didn’t want to start a fight.

  
  


“No, Jug. I wasn’t.” She exhaled, slamming the lid of her computer shut. She stood up to meet him. He stood up from where he was leaning against the desk.

  
  


She took his right hand in hers. 

  
  


“Juggie, I need you to tell them. Please.” She begged.

  
  


He took a deep swallow.

  
  


“Or have you done it yet?” She asked.

  
  


He shook his head no. She dropped his hand, hers instead travelling to her hairline, as she tilted her head back, pulling her skin towards her scalp in frustration.

  
  


“Jesus Jughead. Could you hurry it up, it’s stressing me out.” She began.

  
  


“Okay, Okay Betty. I will, I promise.”

  
  


She turned back to her desk on an exhale, opening her laptop back up. After her eyes had trained on her laptop, and he was still there, she looked up to him, raising her eyebrows. He turned around back to his desk, and pulled his own laptop in.

  
  


It was all fun and games, just them sitting in that dusty newsroom, until the bell was about to ring foro them to continue on to their next class. They were packing up their things, when someone came bursting into the small room.

  
  


It was Veronica.

  
  


“You guys need to come here right now.”  She yelled into the room, becokoning them to come. They both glanced to each other, eyebrows knitted together in confusion, as they got up from their deskchairs.

  
  


They were pulled out into the hall, and brought down to the hall where the 11 grade lockers were.

  
  


They went to the end of the hall, where the kids with letters early in the alphabet were assigned lockers. 

  
  


There it was.

  
  


In read spray paint.

  
  


_ Go to hell, Serpent Slut! _


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for my leave of absence; I have been trying really hard to keep my grades up so I can meet Lili and Cole, and that doesn't leave much room for writing. This chapter is unbetaed, so all mistakes are my own.

There it was.

  
  


In read spray paint.

  
  


_ Go to hell, Serpent Slut! _

  
  


It felt like the breath had been sucked from her. A small group of people had conjured around the offending locker- even a few of Betty’s own teachers.

  
  
  


Cheryl and Archie were already there, trying to cover it with their backpacks, but to no effect. It was still there, and eventually they would have to go to class.

  
  


He looked over to her, his breath almost as short as hers.

  
  


She broke away from the crowd, her heeled boots pounding on the linoleum floors of her school. He ran after her.

  
  


She had made it back to the Blue and Gold, and slammed the door shut behind her. She had asked to get a lock put on the door once, but Mr. Weatherbee had seen it inappropriate. He did know that Betty and Jughead were together, after all.

  
  


She sat down against the door, tears pouring from her eyes. People knew. But she had but a clue who had done it. She wanted to cry her fucking eyeballs out. 

  
  


Her hands curled in on themselves. It was a habit she had tried breaking many times. She pressed her fingernails into her palms, digging them further and further into her skin until she felt the subtle give, letting her know that she had broken skin.

  
  


She looked at what she had just done to herself, but it only caused her more agony. She killed her head back, knocking it on the wooden door.

  
  


Jughead had fallen upon the room. He could hear her crying softly through the door. He rapped his calloused knuckles on the door twice, before calling out to her.

  
  


“Betty, are you okay?”

  
  


“Go away.” She yelled through the door in between sobs.

  
  


“Betty, please let me in.” He begged.

  
  


“No, Jughead. You did this. You should have told the Serpents.” She yelled back at him, slamming her head against the door.

  
  


“I’m sorry, Betty. Please let me in so we can make it better.” He bargained through the door.

  
  


“Jughead, go to class. I just need to go home.” She said weakly.

  
  


“Betty, I’ll find out who did this, okay?” He said through the door, voice shaking with anger.

  
  


“No, Jughead. Just let it blow over.” She sobbed through the door. She had her face buried in her knees.

  
  


“Okay, Betty. Do you want me come over after school?” He asked, his voice breaking.

  
  


“Maybe. If I text you and say yes. But otherwise don’t come by. Please” She asked.

  
  


“Okay, I’m going to go now, do you need anything?” he asked as the bell rung.

  
  


“No, I’m fine. Go.” She said through the door.

  
  


As he shifted his weight from where he was leaning unto the door back to his feet. He walked to her locker. Now it was becoming harder to get through the hallway, the crowd was so thick, all the way back to the wall of the hallway, like in the city when there is a street performer, and so many people are surrounding that you feel enticed to look.

  
  


He pushed his way through the crowd. Several serpents- those outside of the inner circle, that is- were gathered around, laughing, pointing.

  
  


The words  _ Betty Cooper  _ and  _ Jughead Jones  _ echoed through the crowd.

  
  


As he pushed his way to the crowd, the attention was averted from her locker and onto him.

  
  


“Everyone get to class, there’s nothing to see here.” He yelled over the buzz of students. Some had their cellphones out and were taking videos, chuckling in the background.

  
  


Chuck Clayton walked into the circle as well.

  
  


“Well, I’ll be damned. I guess the speculation was right. So Betty Cooper is your skank, huh?” He smirked.

  
  
  


And then, in one foul swoop, Jughead punched CHuck Clayton clean out to the ground, everyone backed away slowly, before Mr. Conner collected him by his scruff, bringing him down to Weatherbee.

  
  


AS he shoved him into the atrium of the office, the door was already open, and he was called in.

  
  


“Mr Jones, why did you punch your classmate?” He asked. His tolerance had definitely been stretched thin.

  
  


“Why are you sitting here interrogating me, when you should be looking for whoever it was who vandalized Betty Cooper’s locker?” He spit.

  
  


“We are currently dealing with that, yes, but spray paint does not warrant punching a classmate unconscious!” He slammed his hands down on the desk, standing up from his wooden chair to stair down upon him.

  
  


“He called her a skank. It’s what he deserved. He’s been harassing her since the eighth grade, he got what he asked for.” He snarled.

  
  


“Well, then maybe Betty should have came and reported it. But she didn’t, so therefore we cannot justify that. But, either way, you should not have reacted that way.”

  
  


“Really, is that so? Then why were your own staff participating, doing nothing? Just standing their, ravishing in teenagers suffering?”

  
  


“That was not reported. I will look into that. But until then, you are suspended for five days. And you are suspended from the Blue and Gold for two weeks after.” The principal yelled.

  
  


“Bullshit.” He said under his breath.

  
  


“Six days, Jones. Now leave my school.” he beckoned him towards the door.

  
  


He rolled his eyes, leaving the office.

  
  


He walked to the newsroom, and grabbed his bag. Betty was nowhere to be found.

  
  


He went home, and cut once more The world really hadn’t been kind to Jughead Jones that day.

  
  
  



End file.
